Asian Games: 9-year-old Mazel Alegado makes skateboarding final

Skateboarder Mazel Alegado at the Asian Games.–POC PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Mazel Alegado, the youngest athlete in the 19th Asian Games at 9 years old, reached the women’s park skateboarding final on Sunday at Qiantang Roller Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China.

The Filipino prodigy proved that age is just a number as she earned a shot at a medal after placing seventh in Heat 1 of the qualification round, where eight of the nine participants advanced to the final round.

Alegado scored 44.86 points in her first run and delivered her best performance in her second try, garnering 56.96 points to enter the final on Monday.

Japan’s Hinano Kusaki topscored with 78.06 points, Mao Jiasi of China placed second with 77.06 points, while Japanese Mei Sugawara finished third with 75.33. Korea’s Cho Hyunju tallied 70.36, followed by Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yi-Fan (62.00) and China’s Li Yujuan (58.40).

Indonesia’s Nyimas Cinta qualified as the eighth placer with 41.30 points behind Alegado, as Thailand’s Orapan Tongkong didn’t make it to the final round with 36.51 points.

Another Filipino, Jericho Francisco Jr., also barged to the men’s park skateboarding final after placing third in the qualification.

Francisco overcame a lethargic first run with 2.06 points as he garnered 77.86 points in his second try to place third behind top two Japanese skateboarders Yuro Nagahara (81.80) and  Kensuke Sasaoka (79.81).

Francisco will compete in the eight-man park skateboarding final on Monday along with Alegado in the women’s division, hoping to deliver the country’s first medals in the sport.

Margielyn Didal, the 2018 Asian Games gold medalist, will start her campaign in women’s street skateboarding on Tuesday.