Philippine sepak takraw squad motivated by Asiad medals

MANILA, Philippines -- With the breakthrough medals for the Philippines’ sepak takraw team in the recently concluded Hangzhou Asian Games, the squad is eyeing for more in the next Asiad.

In an interview over the weekend, Karen Caballero, the president of the Pilipinas Sepak Takraw Federation Inc., said that the bronze medals the Philippines took home are historic, as these are their first in 33 years.

“Actually, it’s history for us because since sepak takraw has been included in the Asian Games in 1990, this is the first, in 33 years, that the team took home the medals,” Caballero told reporters in a mix of English and Filipino.

The team will be preparing for future tournaments in the coming months and years as they look ahead to the Nagoya Asian Games in 2026.

“Hopefully, the same team will deliver a better color of medal in Nagoya, Japan in 2026,” she added.

For now, the team will continue training for the upcoming Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in February 2024 and the Southeast Asian Games in 2025.

The Philippine sepak takraw team brought home bronze medals in the Asian Games for both quadrant and regu.

The two bronze medals are instrumental for the Philippines to finish 17th among the countries in the Asiad.

The country brought home four gold medals, two silver medals and 12 bronze medals.

They finished ahead of Kyrgyzstan, which ended up with four gold medals, two silver medals and nine bronze medals.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino lauded the athletes for surpassing the standing of the Philippines in the past Palembang Asian Games.

“We finished [17th] in spite of [other countries’] big budget and distractions,” he added.