Delgaco
Early exit in Paris
Images: screengrab from OneSports Livestream
PARIS — The Philippines’ Joanie Delgaco and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe were eliminated from Olympic competition on Wednesday, bringing the total number of Filipino athletes out of contention to six and leaving 16 to continue the fight for the country.
Delgaco, the first Filipina rower to compete in the Olympics, finished last in her quarterfinals heat of the women’s single sculls with a time of 7:58.30.
“Great effort, Joanie. We are very proud of you,” said rowing president Patrick Gregorio, adding that Delgaco narrowly missed qualifying for the semis, with a two-second lead separating her from fourth place.
Reigning Olympic champion Emma Twigg of New Zealand dominated the heat, while Switzerland’s Katharina Janzen and Spain’s Virginia Diaz Rivas also secured their spots in the next round.
Meanwhile, judoka Kiyomi Watanabe suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the round of 32 of the women’s -63kg division.
The 27-year-old Filipina was overpowered by China’s Tang Jing, who secured an ippon victory in less than a minute.
This marks Watanabe’s second consecutive early Olympic exit after a similar fate in Tokyo 2020.
With the elimination of Delgaco and Watanabe, the Philippine delegation’s hopes now rest on the remaining 16 athletes to bring honor to the country.
Also eliminated from contention two days earlier were Fil-Am gymnasts Emma Malabuyo, Levi Ruivivar and Aleah Finnegan, together with fencer Samantha Catantan.
Meanwhile, Tokyo Games silver medalist Carlo Paalam and rookie Hergie Bacyadan launch their bids in boxing at the North Paris Arena.
Bacyadan, who hails from Tabuk, Kalinga, is facing the biggest challenge of her life after being pitted against the top seed in Chinese Li Qian in the round-of-16 of the women’s 75kg class.
Paalam, on the other hand, collides with young but aggressive Jude Gallagher of Ireland also in the round-of-16 of the men’s 57kg class in a fight the former garbage scavenger from Cagayan de Oro can’t afford to take lightly.
At 5-foot-10, the Chinese enjoys tremendous advantage over the 5-foot-6 Bacyadan that bodes well in her desire to complete her unfinished business in the Olympics.
She was a bronze medalist in the Rio de Janeiro Games and a silver finisher in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Paalam went through a lot of adjustments after going up from flyweight to featherweight.
One thing going for both Paalam and Bacyadan is that they are going to the arena fully inspired by the win of Aira Villegas on Sunday.
Boxing has been a great source of pride, accounting for wight of the country’s 15 medals since its first competed in the biggest sports show on earth 100 years ago also here in the captivating French capital known for its iconic places and buildings and churches of great architectural designs.
