Caluag loses BMX title, settles for bronze in Asian Games

The Philippines’ Danny Caluag (rightmost) lost his men’s BMX title to Yoshitaku Nagasako of Japan in the 2018 Asian Games on Saturday, Aug. 25 at the Pulo Mas International BMX Center in Indonesia. PHOTO COURTESY OF RICHARD GOMEZ

MANILA – Daniel Caluag of the Philippines failed to defend his men’s BMX gold medal as he settled for a bronze in the 2018 Asian Games on Saturday at the Pulo Mas International BMX Center in Indonesia.

Caluag – the lone gold medal winner of the Philippine delegation in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea – placed third in the event with 35.842 seconds.

Yoshitaku Nagasako of Japan took home the gold medal with 33.669 seconds, while I Gustin Bagus Saputra of Indonesia captured the silver with 34.314 seconds.

Caluag, the oldest competitor in the men’s BMX event at 29, said he was quite disappointed with his finish but glad to be able to deliver another medal for the Philippines.

“It’s not the result I wanted. I came in wanting gold – that was the vision. But Yoshi from Japan came in strong. I knew he was going to be my biggest competitor,” Caluag told ESPN5.

“We were playing in the rounds strategically. I was hoping that the others would expend all their energy but they also saved their energy just like I did. They played the same game,” he added.

In the men’s seeding round, Caluag finished in 36.22 seconds, good enough for the fifth spot, while brother Christopher John ranked 10th with 37.41 seconds.

Siena Fines finished fifth in the women’s BMX final with 43.663 seconds, four seconds behind gold winner Zhang Yaru of China (39.643). Fines made it to the medal round as she ended up on the fourth spot in Heat 1 of the seeding round.

BOXING LOSSES

Meanwhile the Philippines did not get the result it wanted at the start of the boxing event on Friday night as Nesthy Petecio and Joel Bacho suffered controversial decision losses.

Petecio lost to China’s Yin Junhua 3-2 in the women’s featherweight division round of 16 while Bacho bowed to Iran’s Sajjad Kazemzadeh Poshtiri 4-1 in the round of 32 of the men’s welterweight division./PN

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