A third Filipino athlete won’t be taking part in the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics.
Taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin, a right arm amputee, tested positive for COVID-19 and therefore could not leave for Tokyo to join the Philippine Paralympic team.
Philippine Paralympics Committee president Mike Barredo said this after he confirmed Ganapin’s situation.
“Allain is upset for missing the opportunity, but prays that the challenge will strengthen his resolve in later competitions,” said Barredo in a statement.
There are now a total of three athletes and two coaches who have tested positive for COVID-19 over the last two weeks, cutting in half the Philippines’ six-athlete delegation to the Paralympics.
Para-powerlifter Achele “Jinky’’ Guion also tested positive for COVID-19 together with her coach, Antonio “Tony’’ Taguibao.
Like Ganapin, Guion and Taguibao were not allowed to leave for Tokyo.
On the other hand, visually impaired discus thrower Jeannette Aceveda and her coach Bernard Buen were already in Japan when they tested positive for the virus. They are now recovering in an outdoor isolation facility in Tokyo.
On Wednesday, organizers confirmed that a foreign Paralympian has been hospitalized after contracting COVID-19.
The cumulative total of those infected since Aug. 12 is now at 275.
The 13-day Paralympics will wrap up this Sunday.
The Tokyo Games are being held mostly without spectators, following another wave of COVID-19 infections, at a time when Tokyo and many other areas of the country remain under a state of emergency.