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Gary Bejino's coach believes young tanker can bounce back after tough start in Paralympics
Tony Ong, the mentor who oversees the development and performance of para-swimmer Gary Bejino, is hoping for a better outing from his young ward as they move forward in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Bejino failed to advance to the final round of the men's 200m Individual Medley SM6 event after finishing dead last among 17 competitors in the preliminary heats held on Thursday morning at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
The 23-year-old swimmer's time of 3 minutes and 17.19 seconds in Heat
2 was not enough to earn himself a ticket to the medal round as only the top eight athletes will progress.Despite this setback, Bejino still keeps his shot at a medal—or medals—alive as he will be seeing action in three more events in the men’s 50-meter butterfly on August 30, 400-meter freestyle on September 2, and 100-meter backstroke on September 3.
And his mentor firmly believes the budding swimmer could redeem himself once he returns to the pool.
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"This is his first time to be in the Paralympics and he is still young. There was also a lot of pressure for him because he's the first to see action among the Philippine delegates," Ong said in a mix of Filipino and English.
"I still need to talk to him about it so he can settle down for his successive events."
After Bejino opened the Philippine team campaign in the Paralympics, two more para-athletes will plunge into action on August 27, Friday.
Ernie Gawilan, also from swimming, will try to deliver a medal when he competes in the men's 200m IM SM7 at 9 a.m. followed by wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan in the men's 400m T52.
—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News