Wushu specialist Inso delivers 2nd bronze for PH contingent in Asiad

HANGZHOU, China—Taolu wushu specialist Jones Inso stopped the bleeding for a Team Philippines desperately in need of victories to celebrate as he secured the delegation’s second bronze medal in the 19th Asian Games here on Monday.

The 26-year-old native of La Trinidad, Benguet ended the Filipinos’ string of losses in many fronts with his taijiquan-taijijian all-around performance that proved worthy of a bronze.

He scored 9.746 points in the barehand taijiquan form and 9.470 in the swordplay discipline of taijijian for a total of 19.216.

“I was diligent with my training. I went back on my past performances ko and today, we got the bronze,’’ said Inso, whose effort netted the Philippines’ second bronze medal to go with that of taekwondo jin Patrick King Perez’s medal on Sunday in the men’s individual poomsae.

After placing 14th in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, Inso missed out on a medal in the recent 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, not knowing that he was destined to deliver on a bigger stage.

He was the first performer in the taijiquan and second on the mat in the sword act with only China’s Gao Haonan (19.666) and Hong Kong’s Hui Tak Yan (19.494) surpassing his performance.

“It was a challenge to perform at first. I was watching my opponents and I was nervous, but I also enjoyed myself,’’ said Inso, who will next see action in the World Combat Games and the World Wushu Championships.

Another cause for a mini-celebration was tennis star Alex Eala’s dominant 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of Pakitan’s Sarah Ibrahim Khan in her Asiad debut on Monday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre.

Eala took only 39 minutes to bring down the 32-year-old Khan and advance to the next round either against Kazakhstan’s Aruzhan Sagandykova or India’s Rutuja Bhosale.

“It was a great game and it was good for my confidence,’’ said Eala, the highest-ranked Southeast Asian netter at No. 191 in the world.

Seeded fourth in the tournament, Eala limited Khan to only six points against her for the duration of their duel. The 18-year-old Filipino tennis prodigy also asserted her might with five aces.

“I think I came in with a great attitude and a great mindset,’’ said Eala.

Not as fortunate on Monday were rower Joanie Delgaco, who settled for fifth in the women’s single sculls; judokas Kiyomi Watanabe, Keisei Nakano, Rena Furukawa, John Ferrer, and Ryoko Salinas; cyclists Shagne Paula Yaoyao, who finished eighth, and Arian Evangelista, who fell two laps behind in the women’s cross-country.

Shooter Amparo “Ampao” Acuna came close to the Philippine record when she fired a total of 618.8 points in the qualification round but placed 42nd overall, and skateboarders Jericho Francisco Jr. and youngest PH team member Mazel Paris Alegado also went medal-less.

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