Young athletes take spotlight in PSA Awards

The youth brigade won’t be left behind and will have their share of the spotlight in the San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association 2025 Awards Night this Monday at the Diamond Hotel Manila.

A total of 16 youngsters are going to be recognized with the Tony Siddayao Awards, given by the country’s oldest media organization to young athletes 17 years old and below, who excelled in their respective fields in the year just passed.

Named in honor of the late Manila Standardsports editor Tony Siddayao, acknowledged as the Dean of Philippine sports writing, the award has been a staple part of the annual gala night co-presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and ArenaPlus.

The 2025 Siddayao awardees are composed of weightlifters Jay-R Colonia and Jhodie Peralta, swimmers Behrouz Mojdeh, Sophia Garra, Titus Sia, and Patricia Mae Santor, golfers Zach Guico and Nicole Gan, chessers Jemaicah Mendoza and Christian Gian Karlo Arca, squash’s Aerra JC Mae Relano, bowler Royce Wayne Padua, boxer Leo Mhar Lobrido, jiu-jitsu’s Bailey Heinsohn, netter Tenny Madis, and gymnast Karl Eldrew Yulo.

Together, they share center stage with Male and Female Athletes of the Year Carlos Yulo and Alex Eala during the award proceedings supported by major backers Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Cignal, Premier Volleyball League, Philippine Basketball Association, Akari, Rain or Shine, Capital1 Solar Energy and Acrocity.

Eala herself was a former Siddayao awardee along with the likes of Kiefer Ravena, Dottie Ardina, Wesley So, Jacob Ang, among others.

Colonia and Peralta accounted for half of the 10 gold medals the Philippines won in the IWF Youth and Junior World Championships in Lima Peru, Mojdeh made waves with rich medal hauls on top of record feats in the Asian Open School Invitational in Thailand and the Buccaneer Invitational in Japan, Garra and Sia emerged as the most outstanding performers in the 2025 Palarong Pambansa, while Santor did the same in the 2025 PSC-Batang Pinoy meet.