The Philippines is sending 69 athletes to the 5th Asian Para Games scheduled Oct. 18-24 in Nagoya, Japan.

In a news forum Tuesday, Philippine Paralympic Committee President Michael Barredo said he is keeping a positive outlook on the country’s campaign despite the absence of chess, which delivered eight of the 10 gold medals won at the 2023 edition in Hangzhou, China.

“They made sure chess is not included because we will surely win. But I pushed for it. We insisted on it,” said Barredo during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Philippine Sports Commission media room.

“But we will make up for that. We promise to do better even without chess,” added Barredo, who was accompanied by taekwondo coach Gershon Bautista.

Aside from 10 golds, the Philippines also pocketed four silver and five bronze medals to finish ninth overall in 2023.

In the recent Asian Games, the Philippines secured four golds, nine silvers and 16 bronzes for a total of 29 medals, the most since the country brought home 42 medals (2-15-25) in the 1966 Games in Thailand.

Barredo noted that China, which topped the medal tally board with 214 golds, 167 silvers and 140 bronzes at the 2023 Asian Para Games, is still the nation to beat.

“They won half of the golds. They have two or three competitors in each event,” he said.

The Philippines will join 11 sports including swimming, athletics, cycling, table tennis and taekwondo.

“Skills wise, we are right there. As we’ve seen during training, the consistency is there. No complaints,” said Bautista.

“The growth of Para in the Philippines has been steady. But we need to improve on our grassroots. That’s why we are pushing for Para to be included in the Batang Pinoy,” Barredo added. (PNA)