Southeast Asian Games champion Bien Zoleta continues to shine in a new sport as she conspired with Johner Ombrezo to win the gold medal in the doubles 35+ Open Category event of the World Pickleball Championships recently in Bali, Indonesia.
Zoleta, a four-time SEA Games gold medalist in soft tennis, joined Ombrezo in beating Piyapon Srirapan and Tarie Caouette of Thailand, 21-18, in the final to secure her first ever title in a world-level pickleball competition.
Zoleta’s older brother, Karl Zoleta, told DAILY TRIBUNE that she drew motivation from her painful setback in the World Soft Tennis Championships that was held in Anseong City, South Korea from 1 to 11 September.
“She only had one week to train at the Zoleta Tennis Center Pickledome in Lucena City before flying to Bali for the world championships,” said the elder Zoleta, who used to train her younger sister in various age-group tennis events back in the day.
“This is her first gold in a world championship and, luckily, she got it in the Open category. She’s the lone representative there for Lucena City Pickleball Club.”
Zoleta and Ombrezo’s journey to the title has been truly impressive.
After taking the second seed in Flight A with a 3-1 win-loss record, the Filipino duo defeated Major League Pickleball players Sarah Burr and Ty Yturralde of Australia, 15-13.
In the semifinal, the Zoleta-Ombrezo tandem breezed past home bets Novi Emilia and Gusti Hariwibawa, 15-2, to advance to the championship round.
In a social media post, the former College of Saint Benilde tennis star said she drew her strength from sister, Bambi, who wasn’t able to join the tournament due to her duties as coach for the national tennis team.
“It was hard for me to just shake it off and just let go of those thoughts. But thanks to Madam Bambi Zoleta, she pushed me to compete here and told me to divert my attention so I could compose myself, collect my thoughts and find my courage again in playing for the flag,” the 35-year-old Zoleta said.
“This medal will always remind me to push through our struggles and fight for our dreams and sometimes when you least expect it, your greatest dreams can become reality through puso at tapang.”