Nine-year-old PSL bets vie in Singapore swim meet

MANILA, Philippines - Three young swimmers of the Philippine Swimming League (PSL) will represent the country in the 20th Singapore Open invitational Midget Meet scheduled Sept. 13-14 at the Singapore Swimming Club.

Veteran campaigners Jasmine Mojdeh, Michael Gabriel Lozada and Emanuel Jelankarlo Solina will be up against the region’s best tankers in the two-day meet.

 “We will try our best to bring home a gold medal. It is the best exposure for our young swimmers ages below nine. The trend has changed and we are exposing them to international competition at a young age to catch up with lost time,” said Philippine Swimming League president Susan Papa.

Mojdeh, Lozada and Solina have been competing in international scene since last year, winning gold medals in the Royal Bangkok Swimming Meet in Thailand and the Singapore Invitational Swimming Championships.

Mojdeh bagged the Most Outstanding Swimmer (MOS) award in the girls’ 8 years category in Singapore while Solina pocketed the MOS trophy in the boys’ 7 years event. Lozada has been consistent MOS in PSL competitions and in Bangkok last year.

“We will try very hard and establish a new Philippine record for their age level,” said Papa. “All of them have been exposed to international competitions. At their young age, they are already veteran international swimmers.”

The PSL is the national sports association for swimming of the Federation of School Sports Associations of the Philippines. It has the longest running swimming grassroots development program in the country. The PSL is also an affiliate of the International Federation of Sports Universities.

Next on the PSL calendar is the staging in Roxas City of the 66th Leg Series, which will also serve as tryout for the the Royal Bangkok swimming meet in November.