JAKARTA -- Jefferson Rhey Loon and Dines Dumaan demolished their respective quarterfinal opponents to advance in the medal round of the 18th Asian Games pencak silat competition at the Pencak Silat Center here on Friday.
Loon, a bronze medalist in the 2017 Malaysia SEA Games, eliminated Almazbek Zamirov of Kyrgyzstan, 4-0, in the men's Class D 60kg to 65kg category to advance in the Final Four against Ngoc Toan Nguyen of Vietnam.
Nguyen, who bagged the gold medal in the 2017 Asian Championships in Chungju, South Korea, defeated Mino Vongphakdy of Laos, 5-0, in the quarterfinal.
Abdumalik Salimov of Uzbekistan also booked a semis slot following his victory over Mohammad Rahimibaladezaei of Iran, 3-0.
The Uzbek will face 2016 World Championships silver medalist Iqbal Candra Pratama of Indonesia, who posted a 5-0 victory over Mohammad Zarish Hakim Shukor of Malaysia.
Dines, on the other hand, clobbered India's Boynao Singh Naorem, 5-0, in the quarterfinal round of the men's Class B 50kg to 55kg event.
Dines, who won the gold medal in the Class A 45kg to 50kg event in the Asian Championships and SEA Games last year, will be up against Muhammad Faizul M Nasir of Malaysia.
M Nasir, a gold medalist in the 2015 (Singapore) and 2017 (Malaysia) SEA Games, clobbered Pakistan's Adnan, 5-0, in the other quarterfinal bout.
The other semifinal match will feature Bo Thammavbongsa of Laos and Abdul Malik of Malaysia. Thammavongsa beat Joaquin Afonso Gomes of Timor Leste, 5-0, while Malik downed Sobri Cheni of Thailand, 5-0, in the quarterfinals.
Princesslyn Enopia failed to reach the semis when she bowed to Olathai Sounthavong, 0-5, in the quarterfinal round of the women's Class B 50kg to 55kg category.
The semifinal round will be played on Sunday starting at 9:30 a.m. (10:30 a.m. Manila time).
Meanwhile, Precious Jade Borre will take on Thi Loan Hoang in the women's Class C 55kg to 60kg quarterfinal round on Saturday.
Over at Palembang, the Philippines dragon boat team will compete in the men's and women's 200-meters events on Saturday at the Jakabaring Sports City Regatta course.
The Filipino paddlers are on high spirits after winning the men's 200-meter and 500-meter events gold medals at the Asian Canoe Federation Asian Dragon Boat Federation Dragon Boat Championships in Dali, China last month.
But Jonne Go, the president of the Philippine Canoe Kayak Dragon Boat Federation, said it is hard to predict the chances of the Filipinos.
"All of the teams have prepared hard. It's going to be a tough fight," said Go, who noted that Indonesia has been using foreign coaches for the past two years and is now a powerhouse in the sport.
“It will depend on how conditioned the mind of the athletes are," Go said. (PNA)
