HANGZHOU. – Any lesser mortal would have faded.
Few knew that Jasper Rom was battling both the opposition and grief as he saw action in the 4th Hangzhou Asian Para Games chess tournament here.
Rom suffered a double tragedy in a span of a few days, with his father, Perfito, passing away at 87 just as he was leaving for action here.
His mother Fidela, who was 80, also passed away just five days later, forcing Rom to make a hasty trip to Cebu before coming here.
“Hindi ko sila naabutang buhay kaya medyo masakit,” said the wheelchair-bound Rom, a double gold medalist in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games, as he reflected on the sad burden he was carrying into the competition.
Rom, based in the Indonesian capital as a key staff member in the planning and management department of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the umbrella organization of the regional group, had second thoughts about continuing his participation here.
“I can understand Jasper’s situation since I had a similar situation in 2018 when my father was seriously ill and I decided to stay put,” said national chess para coach James Infiesto, who eventually prevailed upon Rom to play since he is a key mainstay of the PI men’s squad.
“I told Jasper that I believe his parents would be proud if their son continued so I told him to dedicate whatever he accomplished here to both of them,” the coach said.
With a heavy heart, Rom continued to soldier on and played well enough as the national PI team salvaged a silver after the seventh and final round of the PI men’s team standard event Thursday.
He will stick it out as the Pinoy chess bets seek to defend both the individual and team titles in the rapid event for the next two days.
