Cyclist Caluag wins BMX bronze in Asian Games

FILE: BRONZE MEDALIST. Daniel Patrick Caluag (center) shows his medal in the 18th Asian Games men’s BMX of cycling at the Jakarta International BMX Center. From left are Team Philippines Deputy Chef de Mission Robert Bachmann, Chef de Mission Richard Gomez and former Philippine Olympic Committee president and now Fencing Confederation of Asia president Celso Dayrit. (Photo by Richard Gomez via PNA)

JAKARTA — Filipino-American Daniel Patrick Caluag lost in the men’s BMX of cycling final to give the Philippines its seventh bronze medal at the 18th Asian Games here on Saturday.

The 31-year-old registered nurse based in Los Angeles, California clocked 35 minutes and 842 seconds, 2 minutes and 173 seconds behind Japan’s Yoshitaku Nagasako, who won the gold medal in the race held at the Jakarta International BMX Center.

Indonesia’s I Gusti Bagus Saputra, who topped the event in the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia, pocketed the silver medal after submitting the second-best time of 34 minutes and 314 seconds.

“I’m happy to win the bronze medal. It could have been better if it’s of a different color, but whatever medal color is a great honor to win for the Philippines in a world-level competition like this,” said Caluag, a bronze winner in the 2017 SEA Games.

Nagasako, who is No. 70 in the world, has competed in the World Championships in Azerbaijan and the UCI BMX Supercross in France, Netherlands and Belgium this year.

Nagasako also won the Asian Championships in Myanmar (2015) and Indonesia (2014). He joined the Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong in 2017 and the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games, where he was entered in the road event.

In the women’s division, Filipino-American Sienna Elaine Fines finished fifth with a time of 43 minutes and 663 seconds.

China’s Zhang Yaru, a two-time bronze medalist in the Asian Championships, won the race in 39 minutes and 643 seconds.

Chutikan Kitwanitsathian of Thailand, a silver medalist in the 2018 Asian Championships and the 2017 SEA Games, finished second with a time of 40.379, while Wiji Lestari of Indonesia placed third in 40.788.

Fines, who is also based in California, has been in the national team since 2015, the same year she won the Asian Continental BMX Championships in Myanmar.