Filipina Olympian Lariba passes away

Lariba represented the Philippines in the 2016 Rio Olympics in table tennis. (File photo: yannasiyan/Instagram)

MANILA — Even the international table tennis scene is mourning the untimely death of Filipina paddler Yanyan Lariba.

Lariba, the first Filipino table tennis Olympian, lost her battle to leukemia at a young age of 23.

The Philippine Sports Commission was the first to break out the news just past midnight of Monday.

“You are truly loved and shall be greatly missed,” the PSC said in a statement on Twitter.

“From her days as a table tennis prodigy, and at such young age winning all of the tournaments she joined, to her storied UAAP career, where she never lost a single match while winning UAAP Athlete of the year twice, to being a constant fixture in the DLSU dean’s list during her playing days, to qualifying for the Olympics, to battling cancer, she was a fighter and true table tennis ambassador,” the Philippine Table Tennis Federation said in its own statement.

On behalf of the UAAP, executive director Rebo Saguisag, quoting 2 Timothy 4:7-8, said Lariba “fought the good fight”.

“Let us also take occasion to celebrate her life, a life that most of us can only dream of…. Yanyan reminded us that sport is a platform, a tool that can be used to do good as she spoke about her bout with cancer,” he said.

The International Table Tennis Federation then stated, “Her amazing smile and talent on the table will forever be in our hearts.”

Lariba represented the Philippines in the 2016 Rio Olympics in table tennis.

The following year, however, she was diagnosed with leukemia, and a support drive among her fellow La Sallians and other sports personalities began for her.