ACHIEVEMENTS
Asian Games
Hall of Fame
BIOGRAPHY
Born on August 8, 1938, tennis icon Johnny Jose left an indelible mark in the Asian Games for Team Philippines.
Johnny Jose struck the tennis stage at two consecutive editions of the Asian Games. His first stint at the quadrennial meet came in the 1958 Tokyo Asiad, where he captured his first medal with a bronze finish in the men’s singles. Team Philippines would eventually capture all three podium finishes in the men’s singles, with the silver medal secured by another tennis legend Felicisimo Ampon, and the gold medal going to Raymundo Deyro.
In that same edition, the Filipino hitters also dominated the men’s doubles. Partnered with Miguel Dungo, Jose secured another medal finish to bring home the silver, while placing at the top spot were the duo of Felicisimo and Deyro.
At the succeeding edition in 1962 in Jakarta, the then 20-year-old Jose would leave a lasting mark for the Philippines at the Asian Games. In the men’s doubles event, Jose settled for the silver medal with Deyro against Atsushi Miyagi and Michio Fujiii of Japan, with the tandem of Dungo and Guillermo Hernandez winning the bronze medal.
In one of the most memorable match of his career, Jose fought his way in the men’s singles and defeated Atsushi Miyagi of Japan to claim the gold medal, and become the country’s second Filipino to win the tennis singles gold at the Asiad.
He also made noteworthy performances in the various international competitions such as the South Australian Championships in 1957, the 1960 Davis Cup, and the 1964 Davis Cup Eastern Inter-Zonal Championships, which served as his final appearance in the sport.
To recognize his historical contributions to Philippine sports, Jose was inducted in the second enshrinement of the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
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