BATANG Pinoy National Games standout Jamesray Mishael Ray Ajido plus Philippine National Games top tankers Rafael Barreto and Quendy Fernandez spearhead the national swimming team that will plunge into action in the 11th Asian Age Group Aquatic Championships opening on Feb. 26 at the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.
Ajido, who will vie in the 14-under-year-old boys’ division, was the most bemedalled athlete in his class in the last Batang Pinoy Nationals at the Teofilo Yldefonso pool inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex with five individual gold medals plus a pair of bronze medals in the relays.
Barreto and Fernandez, who will compete in the 18-over men’s and women’s divisions, respectively, were the outstanding performers in their respective divisions in the Philippine National Games swimming meet at the Philippine Sports Complex pool in Pasig City.
Barreto, the younger brother of national seniors’ squad member Miguel, bagged five gold and one silver while Fernandez, the UAAP Season 86 women’s division MVP, had six mints in the PNG, last December.
The swimming trio will be at the forefront of the 44-member national squad that will compete in the Asian age group meet that has been approved by World Aquatics as a qualifying competition for the Paris Olympic Games.
Also among the prominent team members of the national squad are former Palarong Pambansa elementary division star Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh and 31st Vietnam Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Chloe Isleta.
Other familiar names on the squad are Davao’s Ivo Nikolai Enot, who had two golds and one silver in the Batang Pinoy Nationals, and ex-age group aces Camile Buico and Regina Maria Paz Castrillo.
Philippine Aquatics Inc. secretary general and Batangas Rep. Eric Buhain was wary about making any medal forecasts about the local tankers who will vie for honors from Feb. 26 to 28 considering the tough field they will be up against from the 29 countries competing in the event.
“I don’t like to make any predictions because of the tough rivals they are expected to meet in the Asian age group championships. However, if any of them can win a medal, especially in the lower age groups, this will be our future bets in international competitions,” Buhain said the other day during the Philippine Sportswriters Association forum.
He added the staging of the Asian age group in the country would be a gauge of how well local organizers can cope with the demands of hosting a huge international swimming competition.