Rowers give RP first medal

BUSAN, South Korea — A sturdy airman and a navyman gave the Philippines its first bronze medal that must have felt like gold after days of failures in the 14th Asian Games here.

Alvin Amposta and Nestor Cordova came back from repechage and won the bronze in the men’s lightweight double sculls at the Nakdong River course less than 24 hours after RP’s fancied rowers crashed out in the single sculls.

The Filipino tandem started out fourth in a six-team field but poured it on in the last 1,000 meters to edge the North Korean pair and finish third behind the Japanese, ranked fifth in the world, and the Chinese.

"Sa last 1,000 meters binuhos na namin, maospital na kung maospital," said Amposta, 24, an enlisted man in the Air Force.

The RP pair clocked 7:17.84 while Japan’s Daisaku Takeda and Ura Kazushige had 7:00.50 and China’s Yang Maozong and Cheng Hong 7:11.0.

"Hindi muna kami nagsalita noon una dahil gusto namin muna mag-medalya. We’re very proud because rowing gave our country its first medal in this Asian Games," said Amposta.

It was an impressive finish for the Filipino rowers following the fourth place finishes of Benjie Tolentino in the singles sculls and Jose Rodriguez in the lightweight single sculls Wednesday before a huge throng of supporters and RP officials.

Amposta and Cordova waved RP flaglets and received their medals with tears in their eyes, giving the country its first Asiad medal in aqua sport outside of swimming since 1982 when Policarpio Ortega won the silver in wind-gliding in New Delhi.

"Sobra ang pressure. Buo ang loob namin na ibigay lahat sa last 1000 meters at kinapos ang mga Koreano," said Cordova, 25, an armyman from Murcia, Negros.

So intense was the desire to break into the medal column for the Philippines that Philippine Sports Commission chair Eric Buhain ran on the banks of the river while urging the RP rowers to hang on to the very end of the race.

"We’re all happy because we have broken into the medal board. Sana tuloy tuloy na ito," said Buhain.

"Nakabangon tayo," said Benjie Ramos, president of the Rowing Association of the Philippines. "We’re delighted because everybody thought we would win a medal yesterday but we were not used to the condition of the water. It was a big disappointment but we have recovered from it."

ASIAD NOTES: As Buhain ran on the river banks, the rest of the RP officials followed and they frantically waved and egged Amposta and Cordova on till the pair overtook the North Koreans. . . Ramos has been elected vice-president of the Asian Rowing Federation in a meeting Wednesday. He is one of three vice-presidents of the federation, the other being a Chinese and Japanese. "They’re giving recognition to what we have done in the sport in Southeast Asia," said Ramos. . . The federation has 26 members while the international body has 120 nations in its fold.