PHILIPPINE sports did not let the Covid-19 pandemic stand in its way in setting new records and making unprecedented achievements in the international scene.
At the forefront of the country's international campaign are the women athletes who dominated the headlines and inspired millions of Filipinos under quarantine.
In honor of their incredible feats, The Manila Times listed down the women athletes who excelled in 2021.
>Hidilyn Diaz: Nothing is impossible
There's no debating that four-time Olympian Hidilyn Diaz was the pinnacle of Philippine sports in 2021.
Diaz, all 4-foot-11 of her, lifted a total of 224 kilograms at the Tokyo Olympics to win the Philippines' first Olympic gold medal.
The pride of Zamboanga City hoisted 97 kilograms in snatch, a Philippine record, and 127 in clean and jerk to set a new Olympic record in the women's 55-kilogram event.
Her Olympic triumph served as a boost for Filipinos who jubilated amid the crippling pandemic. It somehow reminded Filipinos that one person can go from poverty to become one of the best in the world. Diaz herself said that her gold medal, the country's first in 97 years or since joining the Olympics in 1924, is proof that nothing is impossible.
"What I want to say to all the Filipinos is that nothing is impossible," said Diaz, who was flooded by rewards and accolades from everywhere.
"We're going through so much in this pandemic, but despite that we made it, I did it. Team HD (Hidilyn Diaz) survived, the Philippine team survived. We took home the gold medal. Nothing is impossible."
The 30-year-old Diaz, a 2016 Rio Olympic silver medalist, also became the first Filipino athlete to seize multiple Olympic medals after the great swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso who bagged two bronze medals.
Diaz's Olympic career started at the 2008 Beijing Games when she was just 17 and there is a possibility that she will compete again in the 2024 London Games.
Like Diaz in weightlifting, boxer Nesthy Petecio also proved that a woman can excel in a sport associated with men.
Petecio took home the Philippines' first-ever Olympic silver medal in the women's boxing and became the country's third boxer to win an Olympic silver after Anthony Villanueva in 1964 and Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco in 1996.
Competing in the featherweight division, the 5-foot-2 slugger defeated the opposition one by one in Tokyo.
She toppled Marcelat Mashu Sakobi of Congo via unanimous decision in the Round of 32, stunned world No. 1 Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei in the Round of 16 via split decision, and beat Yeni Arias of Columbia in the quarterfinals via unanimous decision.
Petecio then went on to defeat 2019 European champion and two-time Olympian Irma Testa of Italy to advance in the finals, where she fell short against Sena Irie of Japan.
The 28-year-old Petecio, also the 2019 world champion, said that she is proud of her accomplishment.
"I'm really proud and blessed with this achievement. My coaches told me that it isn't easy getting here (Olympics) and winning a medal. That's why I'm proud of what I achieved. I fell short. This is just silver but it shines like gold."
Yuka Saso: Forever pride of Filipinos
At the tender age of 19, Yuka Saso became the first Filipino to win the US Women's Open — or any golf major for that matter — last June.
She also became the youngest to rule the prestigious tournament at 19 years, 11 months, and 17 days old, tied with Inbee Park of South Korea.
"I'd like to thank my family, I wouldn't be here without them," said Saso as she fought through tears after capturing the cup.
"To all my sponsors and to all my friends and fans back in the Philippines and Japan, I'm so thankful. I hope I can do better and keep this going."
Saso, who is half Japanese, outlasted Nasa Hataoka of Japan in the third hole of a sudden death playoff to win the 76th edition of the US Women's Open.
The following month, Saso placed ninth at the Tokyo Olympics as she went off in the last three rounds after a subpar opening round performance.
Saso, the pride of San Ildefonso, Bulacan and the world's No. 8-ranked player, also finished in the Top 10 in five LPGA tournaments this season.
However, it was a big blow for the Philippines that Saso decided to become a Japanese citizen. However, the honor she brought to the country this year on top of the other achievements she made like her double-gold performance at the 2018 Asian Games is more than enough.
Saso's consistent fine form, which enabled her to achieve her highest world ranking at No. 5 and being at the LPGA's Top 10 for 29 consecutive weeks this year, has rekindled the Filipinos' interest in golf.
Young as she is, the 16-year-old Alex Eala proved that she is headed towards greatness as she put up an outstanding season this year.
Four months before her 16th birthday, Eala notched her first professional championship in the Spain's W15 Manacor first leg in January. There, she defeated older and more experienced players that culminated in a final win over 28-year-old Spanish Yvonne-Cavalle Reimers.
While Eala hasn't won another pro title after that, her triumph over higher-ranked players has been a constant. That catapulted Eala to her highest WTA ranking of 505th before finishing the year at 528th.
Eala, though, is a force in the juniors division, making her highest girls ranking at No. 3 this year before plummeting to No. 10 at the end of the year.
Eala, who turned pro in March 2020, had to spend 10 weeks healing an injured foot after her US Open stint last September, robbing her the opportunity to play more tournaments and hence the decline in the rankings.
Prior to the US Open, she won three junior titles as seized the JA Milan singles championship and the doubles event with American Madison Sieg in July. That came a month after Eala bagged her second Grand Slam girls doubles title in the French Open with Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva.
Eala, who ended the year with a 22-17 win-loss singles card, also reached a milestone in the US Open as she reached the quarterfinals and the semifinals of the tournament both for the first time.
Honorable mentions
Worthy of being included in this list are those who competed in the Tokyo Olympics such as boxer Irish Magno, weightlifter Elreen Ando, skateboarder Margielyn Didal, sprinter Kristina Knott, judoka Kiyomi Watanabe, golfer Bianca Pagdanganan and swimmer Remedy Rule.
Together with Diaz, Saso, and Petecio, they formed a team of women athletes of 10, marking the first time in Philippine Olympic history that there are more women competing in the Games than men (9).
Filipino-Japanese karateka Junna Tsukii, the current women's No.4-ranked player in the women's kumite -50kg, also deserves recognition for winning two Karate 1 Premier League gold medals this year — the first leg in Portugal in May and the other in Egypt in September.
Gilas Pilipinas Women led by the veterans Alfril Bernardino and Janine Pontejos also made their mark this year, as they managed to stay in Division A of the FIBA Asia Cup by placing seventh in the tournament.
The women's team, which rose from 51st to 43rd in the latest FIBA world rankings, did it despite a short preparation time and without ace player Jack Animam, who became a double-double machine in leagues in Taiwan and Serbia where she played as import.
There's no debating that four-time Olympian Hidilyn Diaz was the pinnacle of Philippine sports in 2021.
Diaz, all 4-foot-11 of her, lifted a total of 224 kilograms at the Tokyo Olympics to win the Philippines' first Olympic gold medal.
The pride of Zamboanga City hoisted 97 kilograms in snatch, a Philippine record, and 127 in clean and jerk to set a new Olympic record in the women's 55-kilogram event.
Her Olympic triumph served as a boost for Filipinos who jubilated amid the crippling pandemic. It somehow reminded Filipinos that one person can go from poverty to become one of the best in the world. Diaz herself said that her gold medal, the country's first in 97 years or since joining the Olympics in 1924, is proof that nothing is impossible.
Getting to Olympic gold
"What I want to say to all the Filipinos is that nothing is impossible," said Diaz, who was flooded by rewards and accolades from everywhere.
"We're going through so much in this pandemic, but despite that we made it, I did it. Team HD (Hidilyn Diaz) survived, the Philippine team survived. We took home the gold medal. Nothing is impossible."
The 30-year-old Diaz, a 2016 Rio Olympic silver medalist, also became the first Filipino athlete to seize multiple Olympic medals after the great swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso who bagged two bronze medals.
Diaz's Olympic career started at the 2008 Beijing Games when she was just 17 and there is a possibility that she will compete again in the 2024 London Games.
