TENNIS HOTSHOT Jeson Patrombon, taekwondo-jin Kirk Barbosa and swimmer Jhessie King Lacuna will be the first Filipino athletes to plunge into action on Sunday in the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.
Patrombon, ranked 42nd in the world, begins his quest in singles against a still unknown foe.
Coach Manny Tecson said Patrombon is in top shape, but added he has better chances in the doubles as they have three strong players to choose from—former juniors world No. 1 Yuki Bambri, world No. 29 Huang Liang-chi of Taiwan and Japan’s top player Yasutaka Uchiyama, currently world No. 19.
The 15-year-old Barbosa, at 5-foot-5, is the smallest in the eight-man field in the 48kg-under category.
Lacuna will see action in the 200-meter freestyle where he beat the Class A standard of 1 minute 52.53 seconds by clocking 1:51.75 in the Southeast Asian Games in Laos last year.
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