By El Amigo
NAGOYA, Japan — Alex Eala and Carlo Paalam are carrying the Philippines’ latest medal hopes at the 20th Asian Games after EJ Obiena delivered another golden performance that highlighted a busy medal haul for Team Philippines.
Eala secured at least a bronze medal in women’s singles tennis after beating Chinese Taipei’s Joanna Garland, 7-5, 6-0, in the quarterfinals Wednesday at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.
The top-seeded Filipino battled through a tight opening set before pulling away in the second to book a place in the semifinals. The victory assured Eala of her first Asian Games singles medal and kept alive her bid for a higher finish.
Paalam, meanwhile, punched his ticket to the men’s 55kg boxing final after edging Kazakhstan’s reigning world champion Makhmud Sabyrkhan by split decision.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist is now one victory away from adding an Asian Games gold to his growing international résumé.
Obiena had already provided the country with its latest gold, successfully defending his men’s pole vault crown Tuesday.
After clearing 5.75 meters to secure the title, Obiena went on to clear 5.91m on his first attempt, breaking his own Asian Games record of 5.90m set in 2023. The feat gave the Philippines its third gold of the Games.
Carlos Yulo remains another major contributor to the Philippine campaign, winning gold in both the men’s floor exercise and vault events. His two titles, combined with Obiena’s record-setting triumph, account for all three of the country’s gold medals so far.
The Philippines also picked up a silver from the women’s sepak takraw doubles team of Nelly Jay Salon, Jean Marie Sucalit and Abegail Sinogbuhan, while other Filipino athletes added bronze medals in several disciplines.
As of the latest available medal table, the Philippines stands 17th overall with three gold, three silver and 12 bronze medals for 18 medals.
The tally, however, could still grow significantly with Eala already assured of a medal and Paalam guaranteed a podium finish after reaching the boxing final.
Team Philippines has also collected medals in esports, artistic gymnastics, mixed martial arts, karate, soft tennis, weightlifting and other disciplines, underscoring a broad contribution across the delegation.
With the competition entering its final stretch, Eala’s semifinal run and Paalam’s gold-medal fight give the Philippines two more major opportunities to add to its medal haul.
For Team PH, the Asiad campaign is far from over.
