Sanchez, Cabrido bag table tennis silver

J-ANN Sanchez and Jigyasa Cabrido of the Philippines bowed to their Thai opponents in the Cadet girls' doubles final on Tuesday and ended up with the silver medal at the 26th South East Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

Pacharaphorn Chanvanitborikan and Chisa Cachamit rallied in the third set to beat the Filipino pair, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, and clinch the gold medal after 40 minutes of action at the Fashion Island Hall 3.

"We fought hard in the final so we're happy to win the silver medal. Hopefully, we can win the gold next time," said the 14-year-old Sanchez, a Grade 8 student at the University of Santo Tomas.

Cabrido, 14, was also elated by her achievement, saying "this is my first tournament after the pandemic so I am thankful that I can bring home a silver medal."

Coach Annabelle Comendador praised Sanchez and Cabrido for putting up a good fight.

"They performed well against the Thais who played aggressively in the third set," said Comendador, a bronze medalist in the 2011 Asian Championships in Indonesia and the 2013 US Open before joining the national coaching staff in 2014.

Sanchez and Cabrido bounced back in the second set and even took an 8-4 lead in the third set.

Chanvanitborikan and Cachamit, however, closed in at 8-9 and after gaining the upper hand at 10-9, went on to claim the set. The Thais simply sustained their momentum in the fourth set to win the match.

Aside from the silver medal, the Philippines also bagged three bronze medals coming from the cadet boys' doubles, and the juniors boys' and girls' team events.

The 13-member Philippine team and coach Lauro Crisostomo will return to Manila on June 23.

Comendador, however, will remain in Bangkok for another tournament, the South East Asian Table Tennis Championships slated on June 23 to 28.

National paddlers Jann Mari Nayre, John Russell Misal, John Michael Castro, Japheth Adasa, Eljey Dan Tormis, Kheith Rhynne Cruz, Angel Joyce Laude, Emy Rose Dael, Sheryl May Otanes, and Keziahbien Ablaza arrived in Thailand on Tuesday with coach Johanne Remaneses and Philippine Table Tennis Federation President Ting Ledesma.

Source: TheManila Times