Delgaco misses podium finish

HANGZHOU, China — Rower Joanie Delgaco fell short of winning a medal as she settled for fifth in the women's single sculls event of the 19th Asian Games on Monday at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre here.

Delgaco, the only Southeast Asian in the final round, clocked eight minutes and 5.93 seconds to finish fifth behind Anna Prakaten of Uzbekistan, Liu Ruiqi of China, Shiho Yonekawa of Japan, and Huang Yi Ting of Chinese Taipei.

Prakaten, who won the silver medal for Russia in the Tokyo Olympics, reigned supreme in the 2,000-meter race as she clocked 7:39.05 while Liu clinched the silver in 7:49.98 and Yonekawa settled for the bronze in 7:51.88.

Still, Philippine Rowing Association president Patrick Gregorio remains proud of the achievement of the 25-year old pride of Bicol.

"We should all be proud of Joanie's feat," Gregorio said in a statement.

"Asian rowing final is a world-class field. To achieve a fifth-place finish is truly commendable."

Gregorio added that their goal is to make it to the Paris Olympics in 2024.

"We will continue to focus. The Paris 2024 single sculls will have five Asian qualifiers," he said, adding that Cris Nievarez also has a good chance of returning to the Olympics following his eighth place finish in the men's single sculls event.

Nievarez clocked 7:19.45 to emerge second behind Mahamed Riyadh Jasim Al-Khafaji of Iraq (7:16.72) in the Final B.