Chessers save RP day, win three golds

The Philippines copped three of the four gold medals staked in chess in a big rebound from its opening day setback in track and field and swimming events of the third ASEAN Para Games at the Century Park Hotel.

Wheelchair-bound FIDE Master Sander Severino, a polio victim, swept all his five games he capped with a win over Vietnamese Le Hua Binh in 53 moves of a Reti Opening to bag the gold medal in the individual event for the handicapped.

The Silai City, Negros Occidental native and former national kiddies champion then teamed up with National Master Henry Lopez, who took the individual silver, and Alexis Elinor to snatch the team gold with an aggregate score of 12 points.

Franchs Ching, Elmar Olivar and Rudy Sarmiento pooled 10.5 points in the team event for the blind to seal RP its third gold medal in the sport.

The Filipinos thus hiked its gold medal haul to four, including the one in swimming, courtesy of Arnel Aba in the 200-m backstroke for the visually impaired late Thursday.

Aba was the lone competitor in the event but accounted for the gold because he broke the Games’ record to become the first Filipino gold medalist.

The four-gold medal effort by the RP team already surpassed the country’s two-gold haul in the 2003 Hanoi Para Games.

The Severino-led team erased the stigma of a gold medal shutout by its counterparts in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games. Thailand swept all eight gold medals staked.

At latest count in the ASEAN Para Games, RP is in seventh place with four gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals.

Thailand showed the way with a 24-15-7 (gold-silver-bronze) harvest followed by Malaysia and Vietnam with 19-7-4 and 14-4-2, respectively.

After getting swarmed by the Thais on opening day, the Malaysians made their move in Day 2 as they racked up 10 gold medals — all in the morning events in athletics.

Lei Mei Tan spearheaded the Malaysians surge by snaring two gold medals — one in discus throw where she heaved a 20.17 and the other one in shot put where she recorded a 6.43m throw.

Other gold medal winners were Nor Hidayah Bakri (200m), Mei Foong Mak (200m), Norsyazwani Abdullah (200m), Nur Syafawati Asyukri (long jump), Nurul Syafawati Johari (long jump), Nor Hidaya Haranim (400m), Bajury Ladis (400m) and Mohd Raduss Emeari (400m).

Thailand matched its Day 1 output with another six-gold haul through Suneepot Tanemwong (long jump, 400m), Somdae Wannagammiko (200m, 400m), Suphachai Songphinij (400m) and Sangat Chaikhini (400m).

Vietnam also had six gold medals in track and field from Dao Van Cuong (400m), Truong Thi Thuy Nga (discus throw), Le Thi Phuong (long jump), Trinh Cong Luan (discus throw) and Truong Thi Thuy Nga (shot put).