Josephine Medina

Medina was influenced to take up table tennis as a sport by her father who used to compete for the Philippines internationally. She was afflicted with poliomyelitis which affected the length of her legs. She competed with abled-bodied players as a varsity player during her collegiate studies in order to cope up with her family's financial problems.[3]

She managed to qualify a place at the national tennis team but was later told she could not compete due to her disabilities.[4]

Medina (right) playing against a Vietnamese player (left) at the 2017 ASEAN ParaGames.

Medina competed in tournaments for disabled athletes instead and competed at her first international competition, the 2003 ASEAN Para Games.[3] At the 2008 ASEAN Para Games, Medina achieved the most number of medals among the competitors for the Philippines winning 5 gold medals. She championed the single class 8 and single class 6-10 for the individual events, won the doubles open class 6-10 with Purificacion Mingarine, and the team class 10 with Minnie de Ramos and Mingarine.[5]

Medina won a gold medal at the single class 9 event at the 2014 ASEAN Para Games.[6] In 2015, Medina won gold for the Single Class 7-8 and a bronze in Double Class 10. In 2017, Medina won gold in the Singles Class SF6–8 and a bronze for Team Class TF9-10 with Minnie de Ramos Cadag.[7]

She qualified for the 2018 World Para Table Tennis Championships by participating in qualifying tournaments using her own money for her expenses. After the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro she won a gold in a tournament in Thailand which was followed by another singles gold medal in a tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. She garnered a silver and bronze in the 2017 Taichung Open in Taiwan securing qualification for the world para championships.[8]

In March 2018, Medina was reportedly training without a coach about six months until the Asian Para Games in Indonesia due to lack of time. To compensate for this, she practices with the men's team of the member colleges of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.[8]

Medina's father a former member of the national team was Josephine's inspiration for taking up table tennis. Her father died in 2004, who worked in Saudi Arabia last coaching the Royal Saudi Air Force. Medina dedicated her 2016 Summer Paralympic feat to her father.[3]

Medina has a degree in industrial and organizational psychology from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila.