By Al S. Mendoza
ARE we really having the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan?
Or is it the “China Games” we’ve been watching since Sept. 20 and ending on Oct. 4?
For, at the rate China has been gobbling up the gold medals, it certainly appears it’s been practically an all-Chinese show from Day One of this 20th edition of the continental showcase.
As of yesterday alone, China has a runaway haul of 130 gold medals, scooping up win after win after win in almost every event staked in the two-week or so competition.
That 130-gold total is so massive the Philippines needs maybe 50 Asiads to amass that much?
China is so way ahead of the pack that if this were a one-on-one duel between two marathon runners, the winner had long crossed the finish line, had emerged from the showers and been enjoying cocktails hour while the foe was not even halfway through the 42.195-kilometer race.
For the record, Japan was running second as of yesterday with 41 gold medals–or 89 gold medals behind China.
With still five days or so left in the quadrennial Games, China could yet jack up its lead in the event that also includes countries like Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Tajikistan.
So unreachable is China that its 89-gold margin is as wide as the combined sizes of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.
But be that as it may, Japan’s 41 gold medals seems secure for second spot for the host country as the Japanese are 20 gold medals ahead of the third-running South Korea at 21 golds.
Rounding up the Top 10 thus far are Uzbekistan at fourth with 12 golds, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Bahrain tied at 5th to 7th with 9 golds apiece, Iran at No. 8 with 8 golds, North Korea 9th with 7 golds and Malaysia 10th with 6 golds.
And the Philippines?
We are at 17th tied with Indonesia, Singapore and Tajikistan with two gold medals apiece.
And who won for us our two gold medals?
Why, of course, Carlos Yulo, whose electrifying victories in the vault and floor exercise duplicated his twin wins in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The good news is we could win some more golds, with our chances as bright as the fuel prices might yet end sooner than expected?
Carlo Paalam, the Olympic medallist, has advanced to the semifinals as the 28-year-old survived a tough Chinese opponent in Monday’s quarters to remain the last Filipino man standing in boxing.
EJ Obiena might yet keep his pole vault crown he won in record fashion four years ago in Hangzhou, China, his spirits buoyed up by consistent finishes in his recent European tour.
And who could forget Alex Eala, the 21-year-old global sensation, who debuted on Monday with a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Thailand’s Cheapchandej Patcharin in a 55-minute win that looked more like a workout than an actual match.
Eala has been tagged the No. 1 favorite to win the gold as chief rivals Naomi Osaka of Japan, defending champion Zheng Qinwen of China and newly-crowned U.S. Open winner Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan have skipped the Games to honor a commitment to play in the Beijing Open.
We may not hit the Top 10, but an Eala win will surely ease the pain of that sorry loss by Gilas Pilipinas, the defending men’s basketball champion, slumping to a worst ever finish of 9th overall.
Indeed, we win some, we lose some.
THAT’S IT Alex Eala, who plays JoAnn Garland of Taipei today (Wednesday) in the quarterfinals, is aiming for a double in the Nagoya Asiad: win the tennis gold to earn a ticket to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Go, go, go Alex!
Leave a comment