PH sungka player scores two medals in World Nomad Games

Palmera took the silver in the toguz korgool event, which is Kyrgyzstan’s own take of mancala, locally known as sungka. (Photo by ginomempin/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

MANILA – The Philippines may have only sent one guy to this year’s World Nomad Games but the lone delegate will go home with two medals.

Rhon Palmera scored a silver and a bronze for the country during his stint in the said biennial meet over the weekend in Kyrgyzstan.

Palmera took the silver in the toguz korgool event, which is Kyrgyzstan’s own take of mancala, locally known as sungka.

He also captured the bronze in the yakutian intellectual table games.

Palmera, an architecture graduate of Manuel L.

Quezon University, called on Filipinos to continue supporting sungka.

“Mga kababayan, wag po nating hayaang ito’y mabalewala. Ito po ay malaking karangalan sa ating bansa at lahi (Do not brush the game aside. This is a great honor for our country and race),” Palmera said.

“Atin po itong paglinangin pa at malaki ang potensyal nating mga Pilipino sa intelektuwal na larong ito (Let us hone this because Filipinos have a big potential in this kind of game).”