Members of the Pads dragon boat team gather during the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival in Hong Kong.
contributed
Pinoys, including Cebuano team, win gold medals in int’l dragon boat tilt
The Philippines showed off its paddling skills when it won gold medals in the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival last Sunday at the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong.
Among the three teams was Cebuano squad Philippine Accessible Disability Services (Pads) PWD Dragon Boat team, which topped the 400-meter paradragon category.
Pads team captain Arnold Bala-is said the Filipino supporters played a huge role in the success of the team.
“The Filipinos mostly cheering for us there were overseas Filipino workers,” Balais said. “The two teams who were with us also cheered.”
The Cebu team clocked one minute and 40.30 seconds in the first round and 1:43.361 in the second to take the crown.
Home team Golden Eagles, finished the first round in 1:39.756 but struggled with a 1:50.274 in the second to finish a runner up.
Finishing at third place were the Purple Warriors, who logged times of 1:44.536 and 1:52.127, respectively.
“We were nervous at first but we felt better once we started paddling and seeing all the Filipinos cheering for us,” Balais said of the team that competed against teams from Singapore, United Kingdom, and four squads from Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Tritons team also bagged a gold in the women’s category while team UP Philippines also snared a gold in the mixed category race.