Inspiration for the season

Lhei Diaz Manginsay earned a silver medal in table tennis at the Asian Youth Para Games which recently finished in Dubai. She discovered her love for the game in 2014, when she was in Grade 4. Behind the victory is a story of a regular kid who overcame a life-altering accident which would have discouraged other youth from pursuing their heart’s desires. It took a while, but she never gave up, even when she permanently lost what made her “regular.”

“I was normal before,” she explains. “In Grade 5 and 6, I would make it to the Palarong Pambansa, then high school until I reached Grade 10. We were in Palarong Pambansa when we had an accident. Seventeen of us fell off a hanging bridge, and my right arm took the most damage.”

Her playing arm was dislocated. After surgery, she lost the ability to bend and flex it, which would have been a death sentence to a regular athlete’s career. Lhei was devastated. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, delaying any chance of returning to active competition.

“At first, I had a hard time emotionally and psychologically,” says the graduating student. “But after three months of therapy, the strength in my arm came back, slowly. The strength came back but not the flexion. It was a big adjustment in my game. I have to use my hips and generate force with my lower body instead of my elbow.”

But her coaches never gave up on her. She went through the classification process to become a para athlete. Soon after, Mangunsay won the singles gold medal in the Philippine National Para Games. From then on, she began representing the country in international competition.

“When it comes to the sport, I’m very competitive,” Lhei explains. “I like to push myself to the limit. I want to get the gold, more so now that my opponents also have conditions. I’m even more eager now.”

Lhei Manginsay’s story shows how adversity, even in the extreme, can bring out the best in us. It’s all a matter of perspective. As she prepares for the Southeast Asian Para Games in Bangkok this coming January, she encourages others to pursue their passions with patience. She is living proof that limits only exist in the mind.

Tonight on Secret Sports Stories: Was the “Thrilla in Manila” actually a replacement event? Catch it on YouTube and Facebook.

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