Filipino differently-abled athletes win 5 golds in World Games
A jubilant Philippine team of differently-abled athletes returned him with 11 medals, including five gold medals from the recently-concluded International Wheelchair and Amputees Sports Federation (IWAS) World Games 09 at Bangalore, India.
Josephine Medina, who missed the 6th Southeast Asian Para Games last September in Kuala Lumpur, spearheaded the RP team with three gold medals in table tennis with the help of teammate Minnie de Ramos who also won two silvers.
Adeline Dumampong-Ancheta lived up to expectation as she bagged the gold medal in the women’s powerlifting with a lift of 110 kilograms.
Arnel Aba, an amputee swimmer, delivered the fifth gold for the Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled (Philspada-NPC Philippines) squad, dominating the 400m freestyle even aside from two his silvers in the individual medley and 100m back.
Completing the medalists for the Philippines were Ernie Gawilan won bronze medal in 100m freestyle and Prudencia Panaligan won the bronze in the 200m athletics event.
”I’m proud of our team and I hope that Congress can act to give incentives to our differently-abled athletes,” Philspada chief Michael Barredo said.
Philspada OIC Luis Arellano said the tournament has been used as basis in the selection process to evaluate the athletes’ performance for the forthcoming 2010 Asian Games in China.(PNA)
