Phl to send big contingent in Asean Paragames

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will field in 58 athletes, including eight veterans of the London Paralympics, to the seventh Asean Paragames on Jan. 14-20, 2014 in Myanmar.

Table tennis ace Josephine Medina and bemedalled powerlifter Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta will banner the contingent, which will seek to at least improve its fifth place finish in the last edition in Solo, Indonesia.

Medina hopes to bring the momentum from her semifinal stint in the individual C8 competitions in London to make waves in Myanmar while 2000 Paralympics bronze medalist Ancheta seeks to win her sixth straight Asean Paragames gold.

Fellow London Paralympians Achelle Guion and Agustin Kitan in powerlifting and Roger Tapia, Andy Avelana and Isidro Vildosola in athletics will also carry the fight for Phl, along with swimmer Ernie Gawilan, triple gold medalist and record-breaker in the last Asean tilt.

The Philippines won 23 golds in 2011, led by the seven-gold harvest of Gawilan and the swimming team and the three-gold, one-silver, one-bronze feat of Medina in table tennis, along with 23 silvers and 38 bronzes.

The Pinoy Paragamers will participate in table tennis (seven), swimming (six), athletics (17), powerlifting (four), chess (10), wheelchair basketball (12), and archery (two).

They will be accompanied by 20 officials.