INDIVIDUAL glory has been elusive for veteran and top women’s squash player Jemycah Aribado in regional play.
But last Wednesday, Aribado, 29, finally achieved that milestone with a gripping 11-4, 6-11, 16-14, 9-11, 11-5 win over No. 2 seed Whitney Isabelle Wilson of Malaysia in the women’s singles finale of the 7th Southeast Asian Cup Squash Championships in Johore, Malaysia.
After breezing through her foes without dropping a single set in the earlier rounds, the Pinay racket-wielder found her hands full against the feisty Singaporean before bagging the gold medal after 47 minutes of intense action.
Her achievement more than made up for the loss of Robert Garcia, who took a 6-11, 8-11, 7-11 beating from Malaysian Duncan Lee in the men’s singles finals.
“This was Jemycah’s first individual gold medal in this competition although she has already won several times in the jumbo doubles event so I am very happy for her,” said Philippine Squash Academy president and national team manager Robert Bachmann.
Although short on international exposure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bachmann was pleased that Kayod Pilipinas, the national team’s moniker, has so far given the country one gold, one silver and one bronze, courtesy of men’s singles semifinalist Reymark Begornia, in the country’s campaign in the meet.
“The hard work they put into training is obviously paying off and we hope this success will continue,” stressed Bachmann, who is also the Southeast Asian Squash Association president.
Pinoy bets resumed action with the mixed team event yesterday.
