The Philippine para chess players struck gold on Saturday, capturing five out of a possible six medals in the rapid event, marking a victorious end to the country’s campaign and achieving an all-time high of ninth place in the overall medal standings on the last day of the 4th Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
Assisted by some fortunate breaks and the gritty and united stand of the Philippine chess players, they swept the men’s PI (Physically Impaired) and B2-B3 divisions. Additionally, they secured the PI women’s individual gold, courtesy of Atty. Cheyzer Crystal Mendoza, and earned a team silver in the same event.
Darry Bernardo, an Asian Para Games rookie, exemplified the squad’s resilience. He was down one piece while playing with the white pieces but still managed to pull off an improbable win against Indonesia’s Adji Hartono, securing victory in the B1-B2 men’s individual event with six points.
Including the rapid team gold, Bernardo and Menandro Redor emerged as the most decorated athletes on the Philippine team, each earning three medals in the competition supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Thanks to their heroic efforts, the 72-member Philippines contingent here matched the tally of 10 gold medals from the 18th Asian Games while achieving their best-ever performance in the continental showcase, placing ninth overall. This is three notches higher than the country’s performance five years ago.
This accomplishment was achieved even though the Philippine standard-bearers earned fewer silver and bronze medals—four and five, respectively—compared to the eight and eleven in the previous Games.
Veteran Henry Roger Lopez, who led the field with five points entering the seventh and final round, won a hard-fought match against teammate Jasper Rom, becoming a double gold medalist along with Mendoza, anchoring the men’s PI squad to a sweep of both team and individual events.
The 42-year-old Davao City native’s golden triumph was aided by a draw between Iran’s Aski Kazemian and veteran Tirto of Indonesia in the last round, which prevented Kazemian from surpassing Lopez on a tiebreak.
“Lopez would have lost on a tiebreak if Kazemian had won, but somehow Tirto managed to draw the Iranian, paving the way for our player to win the gold,” explained national para chess head coach James Infiesto.
“I’m very happy. I have no words. This is my best performance in the Asian Para Games. All of our hard work and sacrifices have paid off. This was a team effort,” said Lopez, who was teary-eyed while paying tribute to teammate Jasper Rom, whose parents had passed away during the meet but stayed on to support the team.
“We had to protect Henry at all costs, and I’m glad I was part of his well-earned triumph,” Rom said with a smile and a satisfied look on his face.
“It’s a bit of redemption for the team because we won a silver in the team event in rapid,” said Mendoza, who began the event with a loss but recovered in the later rounds to secure the gold with 5.5 points after defeating Vietnam’s Thuy Tran Thi Bich in her final game.
In fact, she and Indonesia’s Lilis Herna Yula were tied at the end of the seven-round series with identical 5.5 points, but the Filipina chess player won based on the tiebreaking system.
“This accomplishment seems absolutely impossible and too good to be true, but it’s here,” said Infiesto of his players’ glowing achievement, surpassing their haul of five gold, two silver, and six bronze medals from the 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games.
“It seems that 13 is our lucky number,” noted the coach, counting the three silver and two bronze medals his prolific squad likewise won.
“Absolutely amazing. This is what you reap with hard work and proper preparations,” said Philippine Paralympic Committee President Mike Barredo, who personally congratulated all team members after their matches concluded.
