Pinoy canoe bets to train in Hungary

MANILA, Philippines - Top Filipino bets in canoe will be sent to Hungary for high-level training in preparation for their medal bid in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

“Hungary is a powerhouse in canoeing and we feel our athletes will learn and improve a lot training there,” said coach Len Escollante of the European nation that has accounted for the most medals in canoeing in the Olympics with 77 medals overall, including 22 golds.

Five athletes will make up the contingent in the Hungary sessions a month before the SEAG, according to Escollante.

The Pinoy canoe aces will take part in seven events in the Singapore SEAG, hoping to strike gold in the 1,000-meter doubles, and 200-meter single and doubles competitions.

Teeners Hermie Macaranas and Ojay Fuentes are expected to lead the charge after shining for the team in 2014.

Macaranas, a 19-year-old Olympic Solidarity scholar, won a silver medal (men’s 500m) in the SEA Canoe Sprint Championship in Singapore, where Fuentes, 16, was a bronze medalist (men’s 200m single). The duo also landed in the podium as partners, copping bronze in the 200m and 500m distances in the same tourney.

The two are also expected to join the Phl crew in the dragonboat races in the SEAG. The Filipinos, a traditional power in dragonboat, look to deliver in men’s 10-seater and six-seater races.

“Our target is to surpass our one-gold, two-silver, two-bronze medals harvest in the last SEA Games. Hopefully, we’ll win two or three golds this time,” said Escollante.