Angana extends reign as SEAG wrestling king

PALEMBANG, Indonesia – Wrestling was not first sport of Margarito Angana, who claimed his second straight gold medal in the 55-kg division of wrestling in the Southeast Asian Games.

As a boy his first sport was weightlifting, carrying heavy sacks of coconut husks on his back as he climbed steep slopes to reach roads where they sold the goods to prospective buyers to augment the family income.

Another chore was carrying sacks of rice to the market from the farm. The story goes that he and his brother Jimmy would carry two sacks of rice on their heads or carry one sack in one hand to squeeze through the crowded market.

Fast forward.

Margarito was briefly separated from his brother in Zamboanga when he lived with an aunt 11 years ago, at age 20,  in Cavite.

When his elder brother came to know about it, he took Margarito to his quarters in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

In the national quarters, he surreptitiously took residence with his elder brother, and, later joined the wrestling practice sessions with his brother and the rest of the members of the national training pool.

Soon the kargador from Zamboanga was throwing opponents left and right. In 2003 he won the bronze in the Greco-Roman and freestyle, then the silver in the 2005 SEAG, and the bronze in the 2007 edition. In 2009 in Laos, he finally gained the gold, which he retained in the 2011 SEA Games.

“He’s a very good athlete. He comes from a family of natural wrestlers. He’s good material for the Olympics,” said former wrestling association president Red Dumuk, currently manager of the chess team competing in the SEAG.