Dela Cruz shines in Asian Kids Climbing

MANILA, Philippines — Praj dela Cruz of the Philippines lived up to expectations by bagging two gold medals in the recent Asian Climbing Championship.

Dela Cruz also won a silver in the IFSC Asian Kids Championship held in Jamshedpur, India from Dec. 9 to 11. The competition drew nine countries.

Dela Cruz was the sole representative from the Philippines, and battled multi-athlete delegations from South Korea, India, Kazahkstan, Kyrgystan, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Hongkong.

She was accompanied by her father, also her coach and trainer, and veteran climber Bidz dela Cruz.

The 11-year-old Dela Cruz started strong in the competition, beating an entry from South Korea in the speed event. And while she hurt her knee on the rope climb. Dela Cruz dominated the qualifying rounds and went into the finals as the No. 1 seed.

Dela Cruz is the youngest member of the Philippine national climbing team. Her gold medals came in the Speed Cimbing and Bouldering while her silver came in the Combined Overall Format.

The event was organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing.