Rowing, table tennis highlight youth charge

Three teenagers raised thousands of kilometers apart are now being pulled toward the same finish line.

Ross Llaneta of New Zealand, Enzo Santos of the United States and Jesu Matteo Manalo of Canada have spent the past three weeks training with the Philippine rowing team, giving the program three young prospects for international competitions.

Llaneta is only 15, while Santos and Manalo are both 17. Born overseas to Filipino parents, they have been training at La Mesa Dam under Belarusian coach Aliaksandra Tsekhanovich and are staying at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

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“We have our targets and we’re working hard,” Tsekhanovich said. “They are improving every day, every row. We all dream big together—one dream.”

That dream will take them toward the Asian Under-19 Championships in India from Dec. 1 to Dec. 7.

The three leave the Philippines on Aug. 16 to return to their respective home bases, but distance will not cut them off from the national program.

“We will track their performances through GPS,” national team coach Maricon Fornea said.

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Philippine Sports Commission Chair Patrick Gregorio, a former Philippine Rowing Association president, called the teenagers “future Olympians and part of the future of Philippine rowing.”

The additions come as the rowing program builds on three gold medals and a silver at the Asian Rowing Beach Sprint Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, in June.

Meanwhile, Puerto Princesa will host more than 600 entries from 20 countries in two World Table Tennis (WTT) events next month.

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The WTT Youth Contender runs Sept. 3 to Sept. 6, followed by the WTT Feeder from Sept. 8 to 12.

The Philippines will field the largest delegation with 60 players, led by national team member Kheith Rhynne Cruz. The Youth Contender has drawn 426 entries, while 165 are entered in the open-category Feeder.