Kayod Pilipinas faces bumpy road to L.A.

Sending Filipino squash players to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is not complicated.

Neither is it simple.

Philippine Squash Academy (PSA) national team coach Wee Wern Low said local players will have to ramp up their hitting game if they want to qualify in the next Summer Games.

As part of the preparations for the Olympics, Kayod Pilipinas is set to compete in the Philippine Satellite #1 from 22 to 25 October and in the Philippine Challenger Classic from 28 to 31 October.

Both tournaments will be held at the National Squash Center inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

“As they progress, anyone can run and hit the ball. It’s not about how fast you can run and how hard they can hit,” Low, a former World No. 5 player, said.

“It’s about putting it together and getting them to understand that aspect of the game more because they are more used to playing against themselves.”

“There are players that are not as fast or fit as them so they are trying to see a different side of the sport and their sort of discovery is what they are learning at this point so it will take a lot more time for them to understand that.”

Low said competitions such as the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games will be a good way to gauge the national team’s competence.

“The Southeast Asian Games is the smallest competition in terms of skill. I believe no one in the national team has won a medal in the Asian Games before so that will be a stepping stone before the Olympic Games,” Low said.

“Our goal is to get at least one medal in the Asian Games (in 2026 in Nagoya).”

With countries such as Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan as the golden standard of squash in Asia, PSA president Robert Bachmann said it is important to have the players participate in competitions where stronger opponents await them.

“You need to play against and learn from different kinds of players,” Bachmann said.

“We’re hosting now but on average, we do about two international tournaments a month. The biggest we had was 29 international outings a year.”

Veteran squash player Jemyca Aribado said while the International Olympic Council has yet to release guidelines for qualification, her goal is to finish strong in competitions and improve her Professional Squash Association ranking.

Aribado finished with a silver medal in the HCL Squash Tour in Kolkata, India from 27 to 31 August aside from bagging the gold in the Philippine National Squash Championships from 12 to 15 September.

In Hong a few weeks ago, she also won in the KCC 120th Anniversary Challenge Cup in Hong Kong from 17 to 21 September.