Rowers looking to add to PH delegation in Tokyo

Melcah Jen Caballero (left) and Joanie Delgaco hope to row their way to Tokyo. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Rowers Melcah Jen Caballero and Joanie Delgaco sliced through the water at La Mesa Ecopark with maximum speed and precision reminiscent of their golden victory nearly two years ago in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

The dynamic rowing pair will bring that form to the 2021 World Rowing Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta in a determined bid to seal a spot in the Philippine team bound for the Tokyo, Olympics.

“We prepared hard for this. The first three boats that reach the finish will qualify,’’ said Caballero in Filipino. Caballero clinched the women’s lightweight double sculls gold medal with Delgaco in the 2019 SEA Games hosted by the country.

Caballero, also the women’s single sculls SEA Games champion, and Delgaco have been working out together six times a week for months now and expect themselves to reach peak performance in time for the qualifier set on May 5 to 7 in Tokyo.

They will leave for the Japanese capital on Saturday with SEA Games men’s lightweight single sculls gold medalist Cris Nievarez together with Roque Abala Jr. and Zuriel Sumintac, who are entered in the lightweight men’s double sculls.

While Caballero and Delgaco attempt to outrace their formidable opponents from South Korea, Japan, China and Iran to earn a podium finish that will propel them to the Olympics, Nievarez should wind up in the top 5 of his event to punch a ticket to Tokyo.

“They all have a chance. All of them have sacrificed for this,’’ said Philippine Rowing Association president Pato Gregorio, who personally monitored their progress for more than a year in training along with head coach Ed Maerina.

These rowers, however, will miss the added motivation and technical expertise of their foreign coach Shukhrat Ganiev from Uzbekistan, who wasn’t able to return to the Philippines due to strict travel restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.