PARIS. — Adversity either breaks or makes athletes competing at the elite level.
One-armed taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin, steeped in international play, is hoping adversity brings out the best in him when he swings into action tomorrow in the 17th Paris Paralympic Games here.
“One match at a time lang po at talagang pinaghandaan ko po it. I am taking my competition with a much more relaxed attitude,” said the soft-spoken athlete, who was sidelined by COVID-19 before he could make his Paralympic Games debut in Tokyo three years ago.
During the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, the 26-year-old Marikina native was penalized for hitting his opponent in the head in the first round of the men’s 80-kilogram division, resulting in his disqualification.
Through all these setbacks, Ganapin has not lost his desire to compete for flag and country. He qualified for a second straight Paralympics stint after beating Indian Sandeep Singh in the Asian Taekwondo Olympic and Paralympic qualification meet in Taiyang, China last March.
He is among the 12 entries vying in the men’s 80-kilogram weight class on Saturday at the Grand Palais where the Olympic taekwondo competition was also staged a few weeks ago.
“We will take it match one a time but we are prepared to compete in four matches (until the finals) if needed,” noted coach Gershon Bautista, Ganapin’s mentor in his dismal outing in Hangzhou.
Bautista added that should the draw favor his ward, “then we could reach the finals in just two bouts and battle for the gold.”
Bautista is not alone here in training Ganapin. Fellow para taekwondo coach August dela Cruz, who was supposed to call the shots for the athlete in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, came along as a sparring partner in the stint backed by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Ganapin said his sad experiences had given him the proper perspective in dealing with the pressures of being the country’s first para taekwondo jin in the sport that is also marking its second appearance as a medal discipline in the quadrennial meet for the best physically-challenged athletes in the world.
“Nananalangin po ako na sa hirap at preparasyon na aming ginawa sa second Paralympic Games ko ay makapagbigay ako ng karangalan sa ating bansa at mga kababayan. Ito din ang pagkakataon na mabigyan ng pansin ang iba pang para taekwondo jins na katulad ko,” he said.
Undoubtedly, fans back home will fervently pray for him to end an eight-year medal dry spell for the Philippines since the late table tennis player Josephine Medina won a bronze medal in the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
