The bulk of the 67-member Philippine delegation to the 2025 Asian Youth Para Games will leave for Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
The group is composed of athletes and officials from archery, athletics, boccia, goalball, powerlifting, swimming and table tennis, the Philippine Sports Commission said in a news release Saturday.
Athletes and coaches in wheelchair and 3×3 basketball, and badminton will depart the next day.
Team Philippines entered 48 athletes in goalball (six each in the men’s and women’s division), athletics (10), swimming (7), powerlifting (4), table tennis (4), wheelchair basketball (4), badminton (3), boccia (2) and archery (2).
Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled-Philippine Paralympic Committee (Philspada-PPC) official Milette Santiago-Bonoan will serve as head of delegation, which include president Michael Barredo and secretary-general Goody Custodio.
Some 1,500 athletes from 35 countries are competing in the 5th edition of tournament scheduled Dec. 10 to 14.
The classification will be held on Dec. 7 to 9, while the opening ceremony is on Dec. 10.
The Philippines is hoping to improve on its performance in the 2021 Games in Manama, Bahrain, where it bagged one gold courtesy of swimmer Ariel Joseph Alegarbes, along with six silvers and two bronzes.
Alegarbes, who went on to win medals at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Para Games, competed at the World Para Swimming Championships this year.
The other medalists in Bahrain were Ronn Russell Mitra and Daniel Enderes Jr. (athletics), 2023 ASEAN Para Games champion swimmers Angel Otom and Gary Bejino, and table tennis players Linard Sultan and Mary Eloise Sable, both medalists at the International Table Tennis Federation World Para Future Tournament in Chinese Taipei last June. (PNA)
