Judokas, lifters fall in AYG opener

NANJING – The Philippines took hits in judo and weightlifting yesterday but found some reason to cheer in badminton as the second Asian Youth Games went full swing in scattered venues here.

Judokas Miam Salvador and Floyd Derek Rillera found out for themselves how tough the competition is in the AYG, both bowing out of the medal race early at the Longjiang Stadium.

Salvador bowed to O Son Hui of Korea by Waza-Ari with Ketsa-gatame in 01:24 in the girls’ minus 44 kg while Rillera fell to Ahmed Aburumaila of Palestine by Shido in 4:00.

Their losses left Renzo Cazenas and Jann Ken Raquepo as the only remaining bets in judo.

Weightlifter Elien Rose Perez, who carried a lot of hope going to this event for athletes aged 14 to 17 years, also couldn’t deliver for the Philippines on opening day.

She finished eighth in the girls’ 48 kg with her effort of 55-55-60 in the snatch and a 70 in the clean and jerk for a 130 kg total which was far from medal standards.

China’s Jang Huihua showed why she deserved the gold with her 83 in the snatch and 100 in the clean and jerk for a 183 total. Second was Thailand’s Sukcharoen Thunya (70-90-160) and third was China’s Yao Lingling (67-85-152).

Again, it was a hot and humid day in this progressive city just 300 km away from Shanghai. The temperature was in the near 40s all day and may even get worse in the coming days.

The Philippines won two of three matches in badminton and was still awaiting the results in seven-a-side rugby, table tennis and 3-on-3 basketball as of presstime.

Lea Inlayo lost the first set against Cambodia’s Pichchoravy Ker but came back strong in the next two en route to a 14-21, 21-9, 21-8 win in the third match of the day at the Nanjing Sports Institute Gym.

Alvin Morada then took the court but couldn’t get going against Japan’s Minoru Koga, losing in straight sets, 21-13, 21-18, before a small group of Filipino officials who came to watch the game.

Marky Alcala and Inlayo put order back in the Philippine drive later on when they won their mixed doubles match against Peoples Republic of Korea’s Kumsong Ri and Unjong Kim, 21-5, 21-9.

“Alvin was doing okay. His shots were okay. But when he had the chance to kill he made the errors,” said Philippine coach Lili Wang after Morada lost a match he should have won.

The Philippines was also scheduled to play two games in 3-on-3 basketball with George Isaac Go, Patrick Ramirez and Andrei Caracut playing Indonesia as of presstime and Saudi Arabia at 9 p.m.

More Filipinos will see action Sunday under the searing temperature with the opening round in golf at the Nanjing Zhongshan Golf Club.

Princess Superal and Mia Legaspi see action in the girls division while Rupert Zaragosa and Gabriel Thomas Manotoc will vie for the boys’ crown.

The Filipinos resume their bids in judo and rugby while Amparo Therese Acuna opens her own bid in junior women’s 10m air rifle at the Fangshan Shooting Hall.

Second seed Jurence Mendoza, who carried the flag for the Philippines in Friday’s opener, will see action for the first time at the Tennis Academy of China.

Morada got off to a tentative start and trailed 12-7. But he gained some momentum and trimmed the gap to 12-11 before committing successive errors that gave the Japanese an 18-11 lead.

The Filipino went on to drop the opening set. Then it seemed he was ready to force a third set as he led, 17-14, but he lost point after point after point in taking a bitter loss.

After the loss, Morada shook his head as he walked past Philippine Olympic Committee vice president Jose Romasanta and Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia.

It was terribly hot inside the badminton venue and anywhere else, raising some concern for the Filipino golfers and the others making their debuts today.

Still, the PSC chairman said the athletes must prepare for the worst. Team physician David Cabatan has started giving away hydration medicine to the athletes.

“The heat here is no joke. The only advice we can give is for our athletes to drink lots and lots of water and stay hydrated,” said Garcia.

“But it’s not just our athletes who will suffer. Everybody will suffer,” he added.