The 2018 Asian Games has been very progressive compared to past Asiads.
For the first time in the 67-year history of the continental meet, E-Sports has been added as a demonstration sport to attract the youth into joining the multi-sport event.
But in order to move forward, you have to look back.
Another addition to the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games was the mind sport of contract bridge – a card game just like poker. And it has attracted the “oldest” and wisest field among the 11,300 expected athletes that arrived in Indonesia.
A total of 44 players are listed as 60 years old and above in the sport that was included by 78-year-old Indonesian mogul Bambang Hartono, a competitive bridge player himself.
The oldest of the bunch is Filipino-Chinese Kong Te Yang, who was born in China back in January 3, 1993.
Yang is joined by Alberto Quioge, Joseph Roman Maliwat, Jr., Romulo Virola, Elezar Cabanilla, and Andrew Falcon in the Men’s National Bridge Team.
“Bridge, the game itself, is very much like life itself – so many uncertainties, so many things to learn, so many techniques,” Yang told the Olympic Channel about the sport.
With this game helping him keep sharp, Yang hopes that they can have a respectable outing at the JIExpo Kemayoran Ballroom, a venue where an audience is strictly prohibited and silence is a must.
As an athlete himself, the octogenerian advises the younger generation to also look at the mental aspect of the game and not just focus on the physical.
“I suggest to be broader – broader in spirit, broader in mind. Because the mind can eventually see our humanity.”
