By REY C. LACHICA
HANGZHOU, China – Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino visited a church before going to the charming Lin’an Sports Sports Culture and Exhibition Centre on Thursday, Sept. 28, to watch wushu sanda warrior Arnel Mandal fight for the gold medal.
He was already thankful and happy on Wednesday, Sept. 27, that two Filipino bets won two medals in wushu sanda – not counting the feat of tennis star Alex Eala who assured herself of a bronze after barging into the semis of the women’s singles event.
His fervent prayer for Mandal to win the country’s first gold medal, however, was not answered after the pride of Iloilo lost to a skillful Chinese fighter in Jiang Haidong in the men’s men’s 56kg class.
Like PSC Chairman Richard Bachmann, Tolentino remains hopeful that the gold medal that everybody is craving to see will come sooner than expected.
Perhaps, the most awaited moment will be on Saturday, Sept. 30, when pole vault superstar EJ finally competes.
No medal, no skatepark
Skateboarding star Margielyn Didal took to social media to apologize to Cebu City folks for her failed bid to defend her Asian Games title.
Looking a bit heavy after taking a long break due to an operation to repair a broken left ankle late last year, Didal, 24, did not finish in the women’s street event that was again ruled by Chinese bets who completed another remarkable 1-2 finish.
In her post, Didal said: “Sorry Cebu wa gehapon tay skatepark kay wala man ta ka medal (Sorry Cebu, still no skatepark ‘coz we have no medal).”
Didal rocketed to international fame five years ago – perhaps her most memorable year – when she wowed Americans with her daring tricks during the X Games held in Minneapolis.
That year, she also won an Asian Games gold medal in Indonesia.
Lovelier at night
The beauty and grandeur of this city is better appreciated at night.
One will be captivated by it towering buildings of different colors that are so inviting and relaxing to the eyes especially to foreign visitors.
Its number of pagodas, temples, artificial islands and, of course, its Grand Canal are all architectural masterpieces.
The Grand Canal alone is the longest artificial river in the world. Just imagine that.
They are all fabulous that one veteran journalist humorously said that he’s willing to live here in spite of language barrier.
That’s the problem.
