DLSU retires late table tennis Olympian Ian Lariba's jersey

The De La Salle University officially retired the jersey of the late Filipina Olympian Ian Lariba, Saturday at the Enrique Razon Sports Complex of the DLSU's Manila campus.

Present in the retirement ceremony were DLSU officials such as chancellor Br. Bernard Oca FSC and Office of Sports Development director Emmanuel Calanog, as well as coaches and teammates of Lariba, and her family.

WATCH: DLSU retires Ian Lariba’s jersey.

Lariba was the first Filipina table tennis Olympian and the flag bearer of the PHL delegation during the Rio 2016 Olympics. She passed away September last year after battling acute myeloid leukemia. @jk_carandang pic.twitter.com/C49sVYCfpA

— GMA News (@gmanews) April 27, 2019

The DLSU retired Lariba's jersey in recognition of her contribution to sports not just in La Salle, but in the Philippines as a whole.

"This particular ceremony of honoring her by retiring her jersey will hopefully be a way of inspiring our future athletes, regardless of their sport, on how to be a true Lasallian student-athlete. One who excels in both academics and sports," DLSU's Calanog said.

Lariba, who graduated from DLSU with a bachelor's degree in Management of Financial Institutions, was a three-time UAAP MVP, two-time UAAP Athlete of the Year awardee, and had the rare feat of being undefeated in her entire UAAP career.

She was the first Filipina table tennis player who competed at the Olympics, and was also the flag-bearer of the Philippine delegation during the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.

"I hope we continue to remember Yan-Yan, especially as we come back here and see her jersey displayed here in Razon," Calanog said.

Lariba passed away September last year after battling acute myeloid leukemia.

This is the first time that DLSU retired a jersey of an athlete from a non-team sport.

LOOK: Lariba’s jersey now hangs with the jerseys of other Lasallian greats: Ren-Ren Ritualo, Lim Eng Beng, and Kurt Bachmann of men’s basketball, and Manilla Santos of women’s volleyball. | via @jk_carandang pic.twitter.com/nZCpjVl2l2

— GMA News (@gmanews) April 27, 2019

Her jersey now hangs in the rafters of the DLSU gym alongside other La Salle greats Ren-Ren Ritualo, Lim Eng Beng, and Kurt Bachmann of men's basketball, and Manilla Santos of women's volleyball. — MDM, GMA News