Soft tennis assured of bronze

The 20th Asian Games has yet to formally begin in Nagoya, Japan, but the Philippine women’s soft tennis team has already secured a podium finish after booking a semifinal berth in the team event Friday at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.

Princess Catindig, Bien Zoleta, Christy Sanosa, Shyryn Salazar and Hilary Paas finished second in Group B with a 2-1 record, assuring the Philippines of its first medal in soft tennis at the Asian Games.

For Zoleta, who has competed in every Asiad since 2010, the breakthrough was an emotional moment.

The Philippines opened its campaign with a 3-0 victory over Mongolia before edging Thailand, 2-1, to secure a spot in the top two. It then fell to Chinese Taipei, 0-3, in its final group match.

“We’ve lost a lot of Asian Games matches in the quarterfinals. Before, when I lost in the quarterfinals, I was broken-hearted. But now, I’m crying tears of joy,” Zoleta told DAILY TRIBUNE in a phone conversation.

“This is a very historic win for Philippine soft tennis because this is the first-ever medal in soft tennis. So, we’re very happy, especially for me.”

The Filipinas will have a day to recover before facing host and defending champion Japan in the semifinals Sunday at 7 a.m. (Manila time) at the same venue.

A victory would send the Philippines to the gold-medal match against the winner of the other semifinal between Chinese Taipei and South Korea.

Zoleta said the team will use its rest day to recover from the physical toll of the tournament as the Filipinas prepare for their toughest test yet.

“For myself, I got blisters on my feet. It was hard for me to run. Then Princess, what she did earlier was stretch her ankles and legs,” Zoleta said.

“So, hopefully, we can recover tomorrow and recover from the injuries that we got.”

The Philippine men’s team also advanced to the quarterfinals after finishing second in Group A with a 2-1 record but fell to South Korea, 0-2.

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