ALL eyes will be on Josephine Medina as the Rio Paralympics table tennis bronze medallist checks into Kuala Lumpur, along with 111 athletes for the 9th ASEAN Para Games Kuala Lumpur 2017 which begins from Sept 17-23.
The Filipinos, the next host of the ASEAN Para Games, are looking at hauling 27 gold medals in 12 sports namely athletics, archery, badminton, boccia, chess, cycling, goalball, powerlifting, swimming, table tennis, tenpin bowling, and wheelchair basketball.
However, their biggest asset for gold medals lies in chess having claimed six gold, six silvers and two bronze medals in the 8th APG in Singapore two years ago.
For the Kuala Lumpur 2017 , Philippines are aiming a clean sweep of all seven gold medals on offer in the chess competition schedule fromSept 18-22 at the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC).
And it is Minandro Ridor who bagged four gold medals in Singapore in 2015 that they are counting on. Then there is also the ever reliable powerlifter Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta – all of whom eye nothing less than gold.
“We are represented by 17 competitors in chess and I am confident Philippines will rise to perform better than in Singapore,” said Ridor.
Philippines Deputy Chef de mission, Dennis Esta, is equally optimistic of a seven-gold medal haul from the chess team, which would eclipse the 24 gold medals won by their athletes in the 29th Southeast Asian Games that concluded three weeks ago here.
“The Philippines chess team has been training and competing in several international tournaments in preparation for the Para Games. Now they have arrived oozing with confidence,” said Esta.
For Dumapong, 43, who delivered the country’s very first medal in the Paralympics with a bronze in Sydney, Australia 17 years ago, said she hopes to inspire fellow teammates with a gold medal.
