PSC touts PH’s ‘very successful’ campaign in Asian Para Games

MANILA — The Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Paralympic Committee hailed Filipino para athletes for their performance in the 2026 Asian Para Games, which closed on Saturday at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya.

The Philippines finished 17th in the medal table with two gold medals, two silvers, and three bronzes.

Para swimmers Ernie Gawilan and Arjay Alegarbes struck gold in the pool, while Gawilan added two more silvers. The table tennis mixed doubles pair of Wilfred Redulla and Lhey Manginsay also scored silver.

Swimmer Raemond Adefuin, runner King James Reyes and shot putter Ma. Ravinia Carpena delivered bronze medals.

“It was a very successful performance, congratulations,” said PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio, who attended the final two days of the continental showcase.

The PSC noted that the Philippines’ haul surpassed the country’s haul in the last edition of the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou in 2023, when para chess was taken out of the equation.

The host nation had excluded para chess from this  year’s program. In Hangzhou, chess accounted for eight golds, three silvers, and two bronzes in the Philippines 10-4-5 medal collection.

“‘Yung huli sa China, may chess, maraming medalya,” said Gregorio. “Dito, mahirap panalunan.”

“More or less, with what did [in the] last [Asian Para Games] minus chess… We did well,” added PPC president Mike Barredo.

The Philippine squad is now looking forward to the next edition in 2031 in Doha, Qatar, where it hopes to make the country proud again.

Gregorio and Barredo also met with Asian Paralympic Committee president Majid Rashed to discuss plans to collaborate on building the Philippines’ first training center exclusively for para athletes.