The Philippine Accessible Disability Services Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team gather to show off the gold medals and championship trophy they won in the 2018 China Construction Bank (Asia) Hong Kong Dragon Boat Races 400-meter International Standard Boat Paradragon Championships last Sunday at the Central Harbour in Hong Kong.
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The Philippine Accessible Disability Services (Pads) Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team proved that hard work really pays off.
This the team proved when it won again the 400-meter category of the Standard Boat International Paradragon Championships in the China Construction Bank (Asia) Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races that took place at the Pier 10 of the Central Harbour in Hong Kong last Sunday.
The Cebu bets, thus, became back-to-back champions in the category.
“We did not expect to win,” Christian Ian Sy, the head coach of Pads Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team, told Cebu Daily News. “But we came prepared with our rigorous training, especially in the last two weeks (before the event), where we practiced every day.”
Pads clocked one minute, 35 seconds and 850 milliseconds in the first heat, then followed it up with another dominating 1:33.913 mark in the second heat to take the title.
Hong Kong’s Golden Eagle placed second while the NAAC Top Brilliance Dragon Boat Team of Taiwan settled for third place.
“Every year, each team is different, and [the other] groups have been paddling for years. So we try to match that up with the training we do,” said Sy.
Meanwhile, the team also managed to place fourth out of 39 international elite and national teams on the 400-meters Mixed Standard Boat category. It also finished fifth in the Open Standard Boat category.
After the recent accomplishment, the Pads Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Team will next see action in the 1st Ormoc Dragon Boat Mayor’s Cup 2018 at the Ormoc City Bay in Leyte on June 30.