By MARK REY MONTEJO
With the inclusion of squash in the calendar of events in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, the Philippine Squash Academy, Inc. (PSA) has become as busy as a bee as it intends to send its top athletes in the greatest sports show on earth.
To prepare the Filipino athletes, the association will be staging two regional tournaments this month at the National Squash Center in Malate, Manila.
The 2024 Philippine Satellite 1 (men’s and women’s) kicks off on Oct. 22 to 25 while the Challenger Classic (juniors) will be on Oct. 28 to 31 with top players from across the region expected to compete.
Squash federation president Robet Bachmann expressed strong belief that the hosting of the two events will help Filipino bets gain more experience and confidence in time for the Olympic qualifiers.
“We decided to host two events this year just to have our athletes improve their world ranking points… and at the same time also for those who are not part of the PSA program,” said Bachmann in Tuesday’s PSA Forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Smart/PLDT, MILO, and ArenaPlus, the country’s 24-7 sports app.
“At least they got that exposure to challenge against the world’s best,” he added.
Under the watchful eyes of Malaysian coach Wee Wern Low, leading the pack for the Kayod Pilipinas are veterans and country’s No. 1 Reymark Begornia and Jemyca Aribado along with juniors ace Christopher Burage as they play against their foreign rivals including Japan.
“Maganda ang preparation, sa tulong po ni coach Wee (Wern Low) naturuan nya po kami sa court, nagbibigay din po sya ng tactic,” said Begornia. “Mas magpupursige pa po kami na paghusayan pa po ‘yong laro, especially dito po gaganapin sa bansa.”
“Excited lang po kaming makapagcompete, tyaka magandang preparation din po ito para sa akin before po mag SEA Games,” added Aribado, who eyes for SEAG return and gold medal in singles squash event of the biennial meet.
