After disappointing campaigns in his previous international tournaments, national para taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin is wiser and more mature as he goes into action in the 17th Paralympic Games in Paris, France.
“One match at a time lang po, at talagang pinaghandaan ko po ito. I am taking my competition with a much more relaxed attitude,” Ganapin said ahead of his stint in Paris.
Ganapin was sidelined by COVID-19 before he was set to make his Paralympics debut in the Tokyo Games in 2021.
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.
Despite the setbacks, Ganapin had not lost his desire to compete for the flag and country.
He 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 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 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 on 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 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. (ABS-CBN News)