PARIS – After basking, albeit briefly, in the Paralympic spotlight, taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin is determined to go through the grueling grind of qualifying all over again for another crack not only at the 2028 Los Angeles but also the 2032 Brisbane Paralympic Games.
“Gusto ko pong maulit ang naranasan ko rito. I plan to represent the country not only in Los Angeles but also in Brisbane,” said Ganapin, sweating profusely after dropping a 9-12 heartbreaker to Abulfaz Abuzarli of Azerbaijan in the K44 men’s 80kg round 2 match at the Grand Palais last Saturday.
“Sayang, sorry po at naano (kinulang) nu’ng dulo. Kaya pang habulin pero…” the one-armed athlete said apologetically after enjoying what appeared to be a commanding 9-5 edge with under two minutes to go until the Azerbaijani’s coach called a timeout.
The delaying ploy seemed to do the trick for Abuzarli, the reigning Euro Para Championships king in the weight class, as he struck back with vengeance to overhaul the Pinoy bet’s lead at 11-9, forcing national coach Gersohn Bautista to also sue for time with 25 seconds left to enable Ganapin to regain his bearings.
“What the Azerbaijan coach called was a good timeout to disrupt Allain’s momentum so we asked for one also but it just didn’t pan out as envisioned,” rued Bautista. “We will do better.”
After missing what could have been his Paralympic Games debut in Tokyo three years ago, Ganapin, looking calm and composed, opened his drive with a masterful 22-13 win over Afghanistan’s Hadi Hassanzada, representing the Refugee Paralympic Team.
“Sobrang saya kong naglalaro, hindi ako ganoon sa training, sobrang na-express ko sarili ko,” he said of his memorable moments on the mat inside the colossal turn-of-the-century hall built for the 1900 Paris World Expo.
“Sayang, akala ko mapipitas ko,” added the pride of Marikina of his near-upset of his fancied veteran foe, who took the gold in the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Taiyuan, China last year.
Bautista said his ward is now well-equipped to excel more in the sport which made its maiden appearance in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, needing to hone further the mental aspects of his play.
