By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Philippine para table tennis coach Louie Eballa expressed optimism over the steady rise of young Filipino para table tennis players following the team’s strong showing at the 2025 Asian Youth Para Games in Dubai, United Arab Emirates held recently.
Eballa said the team’s success was due to the improved talent development, better preparation and cohesion of the four-player crew, which brought home one silver and three bronze medals.
Though the team did not surpass its previous showing in Manama, Bahrain in 2021 of two silver and one bronze medal, Eballa said more athletes delivered medals this time.
“In Bahrain, only two athletes were able to win medals. This time, three out of four did,” said Eballa in Filipino.
Lhey Marie Manginsay, the country’s flag-bearer in the opening ceremony, secured the silver in the women’s U23 singles Class 9, then teamed up with Ramces Tuala for the mixed doubles U20 Class 14-17 bronze.
Tuala also won bronze in the men’s U23 singles Class 8, as well as Barge Cabañero in the men’s U23 singles Class 6-7.
Eballa emphasized that the tournament serves as a vital stepping stone toward high-level competitions including the ASEAN Para Games slated next month in Thailand.
“We have new players now and I saw that they want to strive harder. They saw how their senior counterparts train and realize how hard work equates to winning medals so they want to replicate those achievements,” said Eballa.
Looking ahead, Eballa hopes the country will post stronger results at the ASEAN Para Games, largely due to improvements in athlete classification — an issue that affected the team’s performance in Cambodia two years ago.
“Most of our athletes now are properly classified. In Cambodia, many were not, which affected where they were placed in competition and didn’t always match their disabilities. Now, the categorization is more accurate,” he said.
