At A Glance
- Veteran Jemyca Aribado marched into the finals of the 9th Southeast Asian Squash Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, July 22, after reigning champion Ainaa Amani retired while trailing 9-0 in their semifinal match.
Jemyca Aribado punches her final ticket in Thailand squash tilt. (Philippine Squash Academy, Inc.)
Veteran Jemyca Aribado marched into the finals of the 9th Southeast Asian Squash Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, July 22, after reigning champion Ainaa Amani retired while trailing 9-0 in their semifinal match.
Aribado, a multi-medalist in the Southeast Asian Games, faces Singaporean Wai Yhann Au Yeong for the gold after the latter outlasted Malaysia’s Yee Xin Ying, 7-11, 12-10, 11-3, 11-6 in the other semis duel.
Before her semifinal win, Aribado received a first-round bye and then narrowly escaped fellow Filipina Aerra Jc Mae Relano in a five-set thriller, 11-4, 8-11, 1-11, 11-7, 11-8.
On the men’s side, Reymark Begornia settled for a bronze medal after falling to Malaysian Duncan Lee, 9–11, 7–11, 9–11, in the semis.
It marked the second straight bronze finish for the 32-year-old Begornia, who also bowed out in the semis in last year’s edition.
Begornia, who also received a first-round bye, opened his campaign with a hard-fought 9-11, 11-4, 11-1, 9-11, 11-9 win over DKI Jakarta’s Fathan Azzikri.
In the doubles event, Christopher Buraga and Jonathan Reyes displayed impressive form with an 11-10, 11-4 victory over Malaysia’s Harith Danial and Muhammad Raziq Putra Razi, earning them a spot in the U21 men’s jumbo final against Singapore’s Ethan Kuan and Yuan Xin Li.