Adeline: Good to go for sixth ASEAN gold

MANILA, Philippines — Powerlifter Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta, the face of the Philippine Para Team for the longest time, is not retiring just yet.

Ancheta, who will turn 46 next month, said she still has what it takes to win in the 10th ASEAN Para Games set in January next year in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac where she will be gunning for a sixth gold in the biennial meet.

“As long as I can still win, I will not retire,” said Ancheta, one of the few remaining pioneering athletes of the country’s Paralympic movement, in a recent presser hosted by new sponsor Citi.

Ancheta has been competing for about two decades now, with a solid showing highlighted by a bronze-medal feat in Sydney in 2000 -- the country’s first medal in the Paralympics.

But the Ifugao native has started to feel the rigors of training almost every day, and had made mention of the possibility of retirement before the ninth ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia two years ago.

But she struck gold in a feat that renewed the old vigor in her.

“It hasn’t crossed my mind ever since because my body tells me I can still do it,” said Ancheta, who went home with a bronze in the Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia last year.

Meanwhile, apart from Ancheta, Citi is also supporting athletics wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan in the ASEAN Para Games.

“Adeline and Jerrold are the embodiment of strength and courage in the face of adversity and are great ambassadors for Paralympic sport,” said Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed. “We are deeply honored to have them in the team and together, we will increase awareness of Para sports and the need for greater inclusion of people with disabilities in our society.”