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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Chinese envoy hails EJ Obiena's gold medal victory at Asian Games

Chinese envoy hails EJ Obiena's gold medal victory at Asian Games

Published Oct 1, 2023 07:47 am

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian congratulated Filipino pole vaulter EJ Obiena for clinching the country’s first gold medal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Saturday, Sept. 30.

Obiena_Asian Games.jpgEJ Obiena wins the first gold medal for Team PH at the 19th Asian Games. (PSC-POC Pool)

The envoy posted his message on Facebook on Sunday, Oct. 1.

“Congratulations to EJ Obiena, Chinese name 蔡华强, one of the top Filipino athletes, for gifting the Philippines the first Gold Medal in the #HangzhouAsianGames in China & also in the process broke the Asian Games record!,” he wrote.

Huang added he “enjoyed watching the game, and it’s inspiring to witness the first Philippine track & field gold medal in the Asian Games in 30 years.”

Obiena, who needed just three jumps to clinch the gold medal while also resetting the Asian Games mark, established a 5.90-meter record in a single try.

Before that, he cleared 5.75 meters in his first attempt.

As his remaining rivals failed to clear 5.75-m, that gave the Filipino athlete the Philippines first ever gold in the Asian Games.

In the process, he also broke Japan's Yamamoto Seito 5.70-m record in 2018.

His rivals included China's Huang Bokai and Saudi Arabia's Hussain Al Hizam, who took home the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

The ambassador said he is “looking forward to seeing more China-Philippine bonds in diverse fields including sports excellence & glory.”

He also sent his “best wishes to China and Philippine teams of athletes to the Hangzhou Asian Games.”

Related Tags

Hangzhou China Huang Xilian EJ Obiena PH Gold People's Republic of China
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