PH glows with gold as 3rd Asian Youth Games begin

MANAMA—The 3rd Asian Youth Games begin on Wednesday at the Exhibition World Bahrain here, with the 141-strong Philippine delegation, entering the event with an early gold medal, thanks to Kram Airam Carpio’s victory in Pencak Silat.

Carpio secured the gold in the girls’ 51–55 kg division, defeating Indonesia’s Qiken Dwi Tata Olifia 33-19 late Monday.

Following her win, Carpio urged fans to support the rest of the Philippine team in the 45-nation sports gathering.

“Thank you so much for your support. I hope our Filipino fans will continue to cheer for the entire team. We’re here to represent the Philippines, and together we can make the country proud.”

The Philippines has entries in volleyball, teqball, golf, triathlon, mixed martial arts, taekwondo, muay, athletics, boxing, cycling, weightlifting, table tennis, badminton, wrestling, swimming, jiujitsu and kurash.

The major youth sporting spectacle features over 4,300 athletes competing across 253 events in 24 sports.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino lauded Carpio for providing the spark for the delegation, and expressed confidence in the team’s potential to surpass it’s previous performance.

“Sobrang taas ng morale natin nito. Definitely, this will be far different from the previous one, in 2013, when we had two gold medals. With this opening salvo malamang malalampasan natin yan,”

In the 2013 Nanjing Games, the last Asian Youth Games before a long hiatus, taekwondo jin Pauline Lopez and golfer Mia Legaspi delivered the gold medals for the Philippines.

The Philippines is competing in the Asian Youth Games for the first time under Tolentino.

“Iba yung spirit this time, we’re focusing on teamwork with the Philippine Sports Commission and lahat ng delegates.”

Still, Tolentino urged restraint in pushing the young athletes beyond their limits.

“Safety is still our top priority. Bata ang mga ito, hindi naman yan yung mga beteranong matigas na ang katawan,” Tolentino said.

Carpio, who had dominant wins over Iran’s Nazninfatemeh Kolasangiani in the Round of 16, India’s Sakshi in the quarterfinals and Aliyam Azizova of Kazakhstan in the semifinals, admitted some nerves entering the gold medal match.

“I knew I had a chance, I kind of expected to win. But then again, it’s a crowded field, a lot of nations competing so there’s also a chance of not making it to the top,” said Carpio

“I felt a little nervous before the final match, we were facing Indonesia, the birthplace of the of the sport,” Carpio said.

“But when the match started, I just focused on what I needed to do to finish the job and deliver for the Philippines.”

“It has always been my dream to compete for the Philippines and I will work harder to be able to perform even better in future events,” said Carpio.

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