Rina Borromeo makes history when she became the first Filipino to win a medal in the World Squash Masters in Wroclaw, Poland early Sunday (Manila time).
The 43-year-old Borromeo clinched the bronze medal of the women’s 40-above event to become the first Filipino squash player to win a medal in the world stage.
The England-based netter made it into the medal podium after posting an 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 win over Riika Piekainen of Poland before booking an 11-3, 11-0, 11-2 victory over another hometown bet in Lucia Kozlowska.
Although she dropped her match to eventual champion Karen Blom of South Africa, 5-11, 4-11, 3-11, and Natalie Lawrence of England, 6-11, 2-11, 7-11, she still had done enough to secure a spot for the bronze medal.
Philippine Squash Academy president Robert Bachmann said they are ecstatic over her victory, especially since they didn’t expect that she will be able to land on the podium.
“She’s the first Filipina to win the WSF World Masters. It was really unexpected. She lives in England so she has been training there and joining local tournaments on her own,” Bachmann said.
“She informed us she will join the World Masters but we didn’t expect this outcome so this is really a blessing. No one has got a medal in a world event so far.”
Bachmann said he is coordinating with the Philippine Sports Commission to ask if she will be able to receive some incentives following her monumental win.
“This is a WSF-sanctioned event so I have to check with the PSC if she gets an incentive or allowance,” Bachmann said.
“This is not a small event. The World Masters is one of the biggest events of the WSF. So this also proves that after your sports career has ended, you can still compete in world events.”
Borromeo joins Robert Garcia as the only Filipino squash players currently competing overseas.
Garcia is slated to join the Volkswagen Bega Open 2022 from 31 August to 4 September in Bega, Australia.