Former street kid Ashton Rain Medino led the charge for Team Philippines with a golden sweep in the Boys’ Under-11 division at the 3rd Southeast Asia Junior Individual Squash Championships (SEAJIC) 2025 held from May 9 to 13 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Medino, a Grade 5 student at Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in San Andres, Manila, won all four of his matches without dropping a single set. His dominant debut on the international stage included victories over top players from Malaysia and Singapore, culminating in a thrilling win against top seed Iman Dylan, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8.
The 10-year-old squash star is part of the Philippine Squash Academy’s developmental pool, which scouts and trains youth from communities like San Andres. “Nag-ikot ang national team outside Rizal Memorial to get street kids para turuan noong 2023 at si Ashton isa sa maraming bata na sumali (The national team went around outside Rizal Memorial in 2023 to gather street kids to train, and Ashton was one of the many children who joined),” shared coach Edgar Balleber with Joaquin Henson in his Philstar report. “Every day nasa squash court before and after school.”
Head coach and former World No. 5 Wee Wern Low praised the team’s performance: “This was more than just a medal haul. It was a display of grit, growth, and the unmistakable Kayod Pilipinas spirit.”
Team Pilipinas wrapped up the week-long tournament with five medals:
- 🥇 Gold: Ashton Medino – Boys’ U11
- 🥈 Silver: Iñigo Xavier Jordan – Boys’ U17
- 🥈 Silver: Christopher Buraga – Boys’ U19
- 🥉 Bronze: Lyra Kate Trasmil – Girls’ U11
- 🥉 Bronze: Aliyah Nicolai Gannaban – Girls’ U13
Other notable performances included Carl Carillo and Aerra Relano placing fifth in the Boys’ and Girls’ U19 and U17 brackets, respectively, and David Gabrielle Garcia finishing ninth in Boys’ U17.
The medal-winning run follows another Philippine squash victory by Reymark Begornia and David Pelino, who recently clinched gold in jumbo doubles at the 85th Chieng Mai Cup in Bangkok.
With squash returning to the Southeast Asian Games this December and making its Olympic debut in 2028, the next generation of Filipino squash athletes is on the rise.
Read more inspiring Good Sport stories of young Filipino champions making waves across the globe only on GoodNewsPilipinas.com.
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