Rain or Shine clinches fifth win over Blackwater Bossing
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PH captures bronze in soft tennis women’s doubles
The Philippines concluded their stint after finishing third place in the women’s doubles of the Sunchang Open International Soft Tennis tournament in South Korea over the weekend.
Team captain Bien Zoleta-Mañalac and Princess Catindig ended their campaign after they were overwhelmed by Koreans Lee Hangyeol and Kim Koeun in the semifinal round, 4-5 (7), held at Sunchang Public Stadium.
On the other hand, the Philippine team will now proceed to Anseong City for the World Championships scheduled on September 3 to 9.
The Soft Tennis Pilipinas are vying to surpass their previous medal tallies of three bronze medals coming from Josephine Paguyo in 1995, Joseph Arcilla in 2011, and Zoleta-Mañalac in 2015.
PHOTO COURTESY: PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY
"We are positive to perform well at the Worlds, especially since I and Princess won the bronze at the Sunchang Open and we came from a training camp," expressed Zoleta-Mañalac during an interview.
"We just have to stay healthy and maintain our fitness. We are careful to prevent injury since we are playing on a clay court, it is hard to move because the court is slippery. I am also taking care of my ACL. That is my only concern the whole time we are at the training camp, tournament and going to the Worlds," she added.
It was recalled that the Philippine Team flew to South Korea on August 9 for a three-week training camp. The women’s team first went to Daegu before going to Sunchang City.
Head coach Michael Enriquez shared that the team is in high morale because of the training camp and results of their plays in the Sunchang Open.
“Hopefully, we can convert it to wins and have a podium finish in this world championships,” head coach Enriquez concluded.
