SEAG winners asked about joining beauty pageants
We recently met three ladies who each grabbed not just gold medals at the recent South East Asian Games (SEAG), but adoring fans. They were thrown an exclusive lunch by Resorts World Manila at Yamazato Restaurant. (Wala munang dietdiet ang mga ateng!)
The 21-year-old Agatha Wong is a double gold medalist, who won top plums in wushu’s taijijian and taijiquan events. The Chinitalooker gained public recognition even before the 2019 games started after she made a firm stand on her being Filipino. Recall that she was quick to react to critics who said the only reason she does so well in the graceful but strength challenging sport is that of her being Chinese.
“My last name may be Chinese but I am Filipina,” she quipped.
While admitting that doing well in wushu required her to endure great physical pain, Agatha is not about to give up on the sport because “it was my lola who got me started in wushu.”(Ay, wala ’yan sa lola ko!)
Her beauty, towering height, and long legs are highly regarded by beauty pageant scouts, who have so far failed to convince her to give pageants a try.
“I am competitive but I don’t do pageants. I’d love to do modeling though,” she said. (Sabihin mo ako nalang kamo sasali!)
Also getting her share of offers to join national pageantry is karate gold medalist Jamie Lim. The recent Summa Cum Laude of the University of the Philippines is daughter of famous parents, Samboy “The Skywalker” Lim and former PAG-IBIG President and CEO Darlene Berberabe-Lim.
“I’d say I took after both mom and dad,” she said. “I actually dedicate my scholastic award to my mom and my gold medal to my dad. They’re the people who inspire me the most.” (Ako hanggang anak ni Zuma lang ang kayang i-achieve!)
As a kid, Jamie used to join her dad in basketball clinics, but was eventually asked to give up the sport when boys started taking interest in her instead of the ballgame.
“That’s when my mom asked me to shift to karate, which is a form of selfdefense,” Jamie shared. (Ay, ako tambay ng basketball court!)
With her height, figure and eloquence, a national beauty title for her does not seem far-fetched. However, those things will have to take the back seat for now as she vies for more golds in the forthcoming international competitions. (Ako nalang kasi sabi muna sasali!)
Also setting her sight focused on more golds for the country is women’s weightlifting golden girl, Hidilyn Diaz. A seasoned international athlete, she previously won silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics and golds in the Asian Games as well as in the Asian Championships.
The SEAG gold she won was her first.
“I’m glad it finally happened,” she said. (Ako nga gold na hair color lang ang kaya!)
At 28, Hidilyn is dead serious in winning the country’s first Olympic gold, even temporarily setting aside her plans to settle down with the man of her dreams.
“Training muna. Sana makapaghintay pa s’ya at makapag-tiyaga,” she said. (May papa si ate!)
Hidilyn’s inspiring life story was previously featured in an episode of “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” but her status as a celebrity is also evident in the increasing number of product endorsements she has been doing lately. (Baka naman may gift packs ka d’yan!)
She softens up when asked if she’s ready in case her boyfriend proposes soon.
“Ewan ko! Siguro. Ewan, bahala na s’ya,” she giggled within hearing distance from her beau. (Lakas maka-young star ng statement!)