A YOUNG karter who’s already a champion and a charming jiu-jitsu world title holder lead the youth brigade to be feted in the San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Annual Awards Night exactly a week from now at the grand ballroom of the Diamond Hotel.
Karter William John Riley Go and jiu-jitsu athlete Aleia Aielle Aguilar are two of the nine recipients of the Tony Siddayao awards in the March 6 gala night organized by the oldest media organization in the country headed by its president Rey Lachica, sports editor of Tempo.
Joining Go and Aguilar in the list of awardees given to outstanding or promising athletes no older than 18 years old are archer Miguel Carlos, gymnasts Karl and Elaiza Yulo, karatekas Heleina Dominique So and Robert Dayanan Jr., swimmer Micaela Jasmie Mojdeh and the Philippine junior chess team.
Revived after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the award was named in honor of the late Antonio “Tony’ Siddayao,” a former senior desk and motoring editor of the defunct Daily Express and later on sports editor of the Manila Standard, who is widely acknowledged as the Dean of Philippine sports writing.
Grandmaster Wesley So, cage stars Kiefer Ravena and Jeron Teng, golfer Doti Ardina, Olympic bronze medalist Eumir Marcial and US Open junior girls champion Alex Eala were some of the prominent athletes who received the award in the traditional celebration presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and Cignal TV and with Philippine Olympic Committee, Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Milo, Smart, MVP Sports Foundation, Rain or Shine, 1Pacman Rep. Mikee Romero, Philippine Basketball Association, OKBet, International Container Terminal Services Inc. and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. as major backers.
The 14-year-old Go won a world title in the Super ROK in Lonato, Italy, to highlight his 2022 campaign in the race track that also included a silver medal finish in the FIA Karting Academy in Genk, Belgium.
Aguilar on the other hand, became the youngest jiu-jitsu world champion when she captured the gold in the kids’ under-16 kg event at the Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.
The five-year-old Aleia is the daughter of mixed martial arts champions Alvin Aguilar and Maybelline Masuda.
Carlos, So and Dayanan Jr. dominated their respective events in the revived Batang Pinoy National Finals in Ilocos Sur, while the Yulos clinched a combined five gold medals in their first international stint in the JRC Artistic Gymnastics Stars Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
Also in Bangkok, the Philippine junior chess team did the country proud behind a massive 32 gold medal haul in the 6th Eastern Asia Youth Chess Championships, while Mojdeh delivered gold and silver medals in the National Open and National Age-Group Championships.