Adeline hopes farewell stint ends with Para Games gold

KUALA LUMPUR –  Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta exudes confidence as her powerlifting team shoots for at least two gold medals in the ninth ASEAN Para Games, which unfolds Sunday at the Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex here.

Dumapong-Ancheta, one of the few remaining pioneering athletes of the country’s Paralympic movement, said she has a strong chance of claiming the gold in the over-86 kg category.

“That has been my mindset – to win in every competition,” said the 43-year-old Dumapong-Ancheta, who was already competing for years even before the very first Para Games was held in 2001 here. She was the very first Filipino medal winner in the Paralympics with a bronze in Sydney, Australia 17 years ago.

The Ifugao native has won a total of four ASEAN Para Games gold, including one in the last edition in Singapore that went with two silvers.

She also won two golds in the FESPIC Games, the precursor of the ASEAN Para Games, and two Asian Para Games silvers in Guangzhou, China in 2010 and Incheon, Korea in 2014.

Dumapong-Ancheta, however, considers next week’s meet special since it could serve as her last competition.

“Personally, I feel I have four or more competitive years in me. But if this is my last, I want to make it extra special and memorable,” said Dumapong-Ancheta.

Achelle Guion, another veteran lifter, is also looking to strike gold in the 45-kg division.

“Hopefully I’ll get my second gold,” said Guion who won a gold in Indonesia, a silver in Myanmar and a bronze in Singapore.

Dumapong-Ancheta also recalled the hardship and their struggle during the early days of Para Games.

“There was a time when we only had one simple white shirt with our flag emblazoned on it and we had to wait outside for four hours because we’re still waiting for our officials to pay our accommodation,” said the teary-eyed Dumapong-Ancheta.

“Now, we have a law that give athletes like myself a monthly salary and incentives if we won in international meets like the ASEAN Para Games, Asian Games and Paralympics and I’m happy that I’ve helped in making it a reality,” she added.

Based on RA10699 or an Act Expanding the Coverage of Incentives Granted to National Ahletes and coaches authored by Sen. Sonny Angara, an ASEAN gold is worth P150,000, a silver P75,000 and a bronze P30,000, a marked improvement from the P15,000, P10,000 and P5,000 given for a gold, silver and bronze in the past.

The Phl Sports Commission also grants gold medal winners like Dumapong-Ancheta a monthly stipend of P27,000 for gold, silver P22,000 and bronze P15,000 while developmental athletes and pool members receive P10,000 to P12,000 monthly.

Meanwhile, all athletes have started to undergo the classification process.

The event has four different classifications – orthopedically handicapped, visual impairment, intellectual impairment and cerebral palsy – and several more categories.