MANILA – Aklanon Mary Francine Padios delivered the country’s first gold medal in the 31st Southeast Asian Games after topping her pencak silat event on Wednesday in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Kalibo, Aklan native nabbed the women’s seni (artistic) tunggal singles event gold after defeating Puspa Arum Sari of Indonesia in the finals, 9,960-9,945.
In the process, Padios eclipsed her performance in the 2019 SEA Games where she settled for silver medal here in the Philippines more than two years ago.
Padios, who also defeated Vuong Thi Binh of Vietnam in the semifinals, received congratulations from the Malacañang after kicking off the Philippines’ gold haul in the biennial sporting event.
“The Palace congratulates Mary Francine Padios for bringing pride and glory to the country. We are proud of you,” acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said in a statement sent to Panay News.
This was the country’s fifth medal in the Hanoi SEA Games after achieving two silvers and two bronze medals in the men’s beach handball and kurash on Tuesday evening.
The national men’s handball team settled for a silver medal finish following a come-from-behind 1-2 defeat against reigning gold medal winner Vietnam.
Helen Aclopen captured a silver in Kurash women’s -48kg division, while Charlie Quelino and George Baclagan were the source of the two bronze medals in men’s kurash.
Meanwhile, the Philippine under-23 men’s football team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat at the hands of Myanmar on Tuesday night at the Viet Tri Stadium.
The U-23 Azkals kicked off the opening half with back-to-back conversions from Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo-native Jovin Bedic as they took a 2-1 advantage.
Myanmar, however, became aggressive in the second half as they pound on the U-23 Azkals defense en route to turning the game around with goals from Lwin Moe Aung and Soe Moe Kyaw.
With the loss, the U-23 Azkals slumped to third place in the standings with 2-1 record for six points, while Myanmar maintained its hold of the top spot in the group with 2-0 win-loss slate for six points./PN
