SIDELINED by COVID-19 that prevented them from competing in last year’s Tokyo Paralympic Games, discus thrower Jeanette Aceveda and powerlifter Achelle Guion are keen on redemption in the Asean Para Games in Surakarta, Indonesia in July.
Between them, Aceveda, who is visually impaired, felt the experience more acutely because she was already in the Japanese capital and poised to compete when she tested positive for the virus, while Guion got grounded in Manila before her scheduled flight to Japan.
“Kahit na sabihin mo na talo ka dun (sa Tokyo) iba pa rin ‘yong nagawa mo ‘yong na-praktis mo,” said Aceveda, who, like the rest of the para track and field bets, trained one month in a bubble at the Imus Sports Complex before heading for the Tokyo Para Games.
What not too many people were aware of, she added, was that her case went from bad to worse while she was in the Japanese capital, which was compounded when she learned that her bosom friend and table tennis Paralympian Josephine Medina had passed away during that trying period.
“Hindi ko po naramdaman ‘yong COVID the first four days, pagkatapos ‘yun nilagnat na ako at dinala sa ospital because sinabi nila sa akin later na bumaba ‘yung oxygen level ko. Halos no communication during that period,” she bared.
A double gold medalist in the 2013 Asean Para Games in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, Aceveda revealed that Medina, a bronze medalist in the 2016 Rio Para Games, “was my buddy-buddy for 20 years since we both live in Marikina. She is the ninang to one of my daughters.
“Nag-usap pa nga kami ni Jo bago ako umalis papuntang Tokyo at mabuti naman ang kalagayan namin nun.”
While she was confined and fighting for her life in Tokyo, Aceveda said she once heard her mobile phone, which has a voice application, ringing telling her that it was Medina on the phone “pero wala talaga akong magawa at hindi ko masagot. ‘Yun na pala ang huling tawag niya sa akin.”
She vowed that her next international competitions would be dedicated to Medina, beginning with the Asean Para Games scheduled from July 23 to 30 in Surakarta (also known as Solo), Indonesia, 504.6 kilometers southeast of Jakarta in the main island of Central Java.
The regional meet was originally set to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, but the country withdrew its hosting due to the pandemic, paving the way for the Asean Para Sports Federation last February to award the hosting rights to Indonesia, which was willing to stage the event.
“Babawi na lang tayo sa Asean Para Games,” said Guion, who saw action for the country for the first time in the 2012 London edition but was deprived of her second stint due to the highly-contagious and lethal virus.
“Baba po tayo from 44 kilograms to 41 kilos para malaking chance maka-gold,” said the diminutive yet spunky powerlifter.
