PARIS – Wiser and more mature after earlier disappointments in previous international play, national para taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin aims to take it one match at a time that hopefully will finally lead to golden glory in the 17th Paris Paralympic Games here.
“One match at a time lang po sir at talagang pinaghandaan ko po ito. I am taking my competition with a much more relaxed attitude,” said the soft-spoken athlete, who was sidelined by COVID-19 before he was to make his Paralympic Games debut in Tokyo three years ago.
Then last year at the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, the 26-year-old Marikina native was penalized for hitting his opponent in the head in the first round of the men’s 80-kilogram division, resulting in his early disqualification.
Through all these setbacks, Ganapin had not lost his desire to compete for flag and country and qualified for a second straight Paralympic stint after beating Indian Sandeep Singh in the Asian Taekwondo Olympic and Paralympic qualification meet in Taiyang, China last March.
He will be among the 12 entries who will be vying in the men’s 80-kilogram weight class on Saturday at the Grand Palais where the Olympic taekwondo competition was also staged just a few weeks ago.
“We will take it one match at a time but we are prepared to compete in four matches (until the finals) if needed,” noted coach Gershon Bautista, who was also the one-armed jin’s mentor in his dismal outing in Hangzhou.
Bautista added that should the draw favor his prized ward “then we could reach the finals in just two bouts and battle for the gold.”
The coach is not alone here training Ganapin but with fellow para taekwondo coach August dela Cruz, who was supposed to call the shots for the athlete in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, coming along as a sparring partner in the stint backed by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Ganapin said that his sad experiences had given him the proper perspective in dealing with the pressures of being the country’s first para taekwondo jin in the sport that is also marking its second appearance as a medal discipline in the quadrennial meet for the best physically-challenged athletes in the world.
“Nananalangin po ako na dito sa hirap at preparasyon na aming ginawa sa second Paralympic Games ko po ay makapagbigay ako ng karangalan sa ating bansa at kababayan. Ito din ang pagkakataon na mabigyan ng pansin ang iba pang para taekwondo jins na katulad ko,” he said.
Undoubtedly, like the rest of the five other Paralympians here, the fans back home will fervently pray for him to end an eight-year medal dry spell for the Philippines since the late table tennis player Josephine Medina won a bronze medal in the 2016 edition held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
