BMX rider Coo gives Team PH ninth medal

HANGZHOU, China—Bouncing back from a nasty spill in his first run to make the finals, bicycle motocross (BMX) rider Patrick Coo copped a bronze as a follow-up to Team Philippines’ first gold medal in the 19th Asian Games (Asiad) here Sunday.

Timing 39.076 seconds, the 21-year-old former Asian junior champion added to the Philippines’ lean medal haul with the country’s seventh bronze at Chun’an Jieshou Sports Centre BMX course, coming a day after the thirst for a win was quenched by pole vaulter EJ Obiena.

“I’m very happy, but hurting for sure,” Coo said after the accident in the first moto of the 12-cyclist finale.

The Bellflower, California-born rider swung back into contention over the next two races for a place in the gold-medal contest.

“I need to take it step by step, by staying more calm on the bike,’’ said Coo after checking in third behind gold winner Asuma Nakai of Japan (37.542) and Southeast Asian Games champion Komet Sukprasert of Thailand (38.478).

That jacked up Team Philippines’ medal tally to 1-1-7 (gold-silver-bronze) after 12 days of the regional meet, with the lone silver courtesy of Sanda fighter Arnel Mandal.

Daniel Caluag, the 2014 Incheon Asiad winner and 2018 bronze medalist, also made it to the finals but arrived sixth in 40.433. The 36-year-old Caluag is still recovering from a broken rib he suffered while training in the United States.

Coo, nevertheless, sustained the national riders’ tradition of securing a medal for the past three Asian Games. INQ