Ubas bags Asian Indoor bronze

MANILA, Philippines — Janry Ubas snared the men’s heptathlon bronze in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan and in the process set a new Philippine record last Sunday.

The 29-year-old Ubas amassed 5306 points behind Japanese Yuma Maruyama and Keisuke Okuda, who took the gold and silver with 5801 and 5497 points, respectively.

Ubas’ bronze was only the second medal for the country in the 19-year history of the Asian Indoors after Eric Cray sniped a bronze in the 60m hurdles in the 2016 Doha, Qatar edition.

The Misamis Oriental native’s 7.66m effort in long jump set a new Philippine mark, eclipsing the 7.64 registered by Donnovant Arriola eight years ago in Albuquerque, United States.     – Joey Villar

It came a day after countryman Leonard Grospe’s record-shattering effort in the high jump of 2.15m.

The 2022 Hanoi Southeast Asian Games decathlon bronze winner also set a new national indoor mark previously owned and set by Jeson Ramil Cid (4,565) in the 2014 Asian Championships in Hangzhou, China.

And most importantly, it averted a medal shutout for the national team backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and CEL Logistics, Inc.

“This is a good note for Philippine athletics as Janry outscored the best the region has to offer,” said Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Terry Capistrano.

“He put up a brave stand and showcased the Filipino’s fighting heart in the final event, the 1000 meter run despite an injury enabling him to secure points necessary to capture a podium finish,” he added.