By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
It’s all systems go for Team Philippines as the delegation departs for Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Sunday, Dec. 7, and Monday, Dec. 8, for the 2025 Asian Youth Para Games.
The bulk of the delegation will leave on Sunday, while the remaining members will fly out on Monday.
The first batch is composed of athletes and officials from para archery, para athletics, boccia, goalball, para powerlifting, para swimming and para table tennis, while the second batch consists of members from wheelchair basketball 3×3 and para badminton, will fly out on Monday.
Leading the PH contingent are chef de mission Milette Santiago-Bonoan, Philippine Paralympic Committee president Mike Barredo and secretary-general Goody Custodio.
Around 1,500 para athletes from 35 Asian countries are expected to compete in the fifth edition of the Games, which will run from Dec. 7 to 14.
Para sports classification is set from Dec. 7 to 9, while the opening ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 10. Competition proper will be held from Dec. 10 to 14.
Filipino para athletes will compete in nine of the 11 sports calendared as they aim to match or surpass the country’s performance in the previous edition held in Manama, Bahrain in 2021.
In that meet, the country bagged one gold, six silver and two bronze medals. That lone gold, along with two silver, came from para swimmer Ariel Joseph Alegarbes.
Other medalists included Ronn Russle Mitra and Daniel Enderes Jr. in para athletics, Linard Sultan and Mary Eloise Sable in para table tennis, and para swimmer Angel Otom, who later joined the senior ranks and represented the country in the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
