Veteran Bien Zoleta and her teammates have formally qualified in the 20th Asian Games after clinching the gold medal in the 9th Asian Soft Tennis Championship in South Korea over the weekend.
Zoleta, a former lawn tennis star, said the Asian tourney was a qualifying event so their 2-0 victory over China in the gold medal match gave them a spot in the mixed team event of the Asian Games that will be held in Nagoya from 19 September to 4 October next year.
Aside from Zoleta, also part of the squad are Princess Catindig, Joseph Arcilla and Samuel Nuguit.
“With our gold medal, we also qualified for the Asian Games. On the other hand, since our men’s team won the bronze medal in the World Championship last year, they also have a chance to qualify for the Asian Games,” Zoleta told DAILY TRIBUNE in a phone conversation.
“This time, since the women’s team won a medal, we have a chance to qualify for all categories.”
The Filipinos came up with a strong performance in the Asian tourney.
They first took down Cambodia, 2-0, in the quarterfinals before pulling off another 2-0 win, this time against India, to earn the right to face the Chinese in the gold medal match.
For Zoleta, winning the historic gold medal for the country was redemption for her after settling for a silver medal in the mixed doubles with Arcilla in the 2012 edition in Chiayi City in Taiwan.
“I’m happy that I was able to return to the finals but this time, we won the gold. This mixed team event was added to the tournament,” Zoleta said.
“It was our first time. We were also the first team to become champions in the event.”