Manginsay, Redulla bag table tennis silver

NAGOYA, Japan — Lhey Manginsay and Wilfred Redulla delivered a table tennis silver medal for the Philippines, easing the heartbreak of visually impaired runner Cyril Cloyd Ongcoy’s lost bronze at the 5th Asian Para Games here Thursday.

The gutsy Manginsay-Redulla pair pushed for gold but bowed to the powerhouse Chinese duo of Paralympic champion Zhao Shuai and Asian Para Games silver medalist Xiong Guiyan, 7-11, 11-9, 4-11, 6-11, settling for silver in the mixed doubles Class XD17 at Sky Hall Toyota.

It was the country’s first medal in the sport since the late Paralympic bronze medalist Josephine Medina captured silver in the Jakarta edition eight years ago.

The feat raised the Filipinos’ medal haul to two golds, two silvers and a bronze, placing them 16th overall at press time.

The podium finish provided consolation after Ongcoy was relegated to fourth in the men’s 1,500-meter T12/T13 early Thursday, following his initial third-place listing with a time of four minutes and 23.19 seconds Wednesday night.

Uzbekistan’s Fakhriddin Khamraev, who had initially been disqualified, was reinstated as the gold medalist with a time of 4:07.47. Jordan’s Nabeel Maqableh and India’s Sharath Makanahalli, initially awarded gold and silver, dropped to silver and bronze with times of 4:07.97 and 4:11.01, respectively.

Despite the heartbreaking reversal, the 23-year-old Ongcoy remained proud of his Asian Para Games debut.

“I’m still proud because this is my first time competing in the Asian Para Games, especially against seasoned veterans,” he said.

At the Rainbow Pool of the Nagoya City General Gymnasium, Arjay Alegarbes fell short in his bid for a second gold medal, finishing fifth in the men’s 100-meter butterfly S14 in 58.93 seconds.

The event was among seven swimming finals in which the Filipinos were seeking to boost their medal haul, with fellow gold medalist Ernie Gawilan entered in the men’s 100-meter backstroke S7.

Also in the finals were Edwin Villanueva in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke SB7 and 100-meter backstroke S8, Muhaimin Ulag in the men’s 100-meter butterfly S14, Raemund Adefuin in the men’s 100-meter backstroke S6 and the mixed 4x50-meter freestyle relay squad.