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Now that the elections are over, the new leadership of the Philippine Olympic Committee aims to stand together for the sake of Filipino athletes.
The re-elected president of the POC, Abraham Tolentino, assured Friday that there are many “surprises” in store for Filipino athletes next year.
“We have to focus on the athletes now. We have many challenges next year. Many important competitions away. [the country]especially the Tokyo [Olympics]. This could be our first gold, “said Tolentino.” But with the help of this new team, starting on January 1, there will definitely be a lot of changes and surprises. “
The coming year is shaping up to become one of the biggest years in Philippine sports – the country has a great chance of landing its first gold since joining the Olympics in 1924.
At least four contenders, namely pole vaulter EJ Obiena, boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno, and gymnast Caloy Yulo, are strong bets to take home the elusive gold. There are also other athletes like Hidilyn Díaz, Eric Cray and Kristina Knott waiting for direct qualification to the Games.
The biennial Southeast Asian Games (SEA) will also be held in Vietnam late next year, with the Philippines seeking its second consecutive overall title. In the 2019 edition, the country had its most successful outing so far, accumulating 149 golds, 117 silvers and 121 bronze medals in front of a local audience that adored it. One of the sports that made their mark in 2019 was gymnastics, as Carlos Yulo won gold at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships and the SEA Games.
Gym chief Cynthia Carrion shared that Yulo is doing well in his training, while his other teammates on the national team are eager to get at least 10 of the 14 possible golds at the 31st SEA Games.
Tolentino’s ticket nearly wiped out all 10 positions at stake, winning eight of them. Despite coming from Atty’s losing ticket. Clint Aranas, lawyer. Charlie Ho assures that he will cooperate with the new administration, a team that will govern Philippine sport for the next four years.
“We have to set an example for our coaches and athletes. And we also have to show and be good examples for our athletes and all members of the NSA. So I will be here to remind everyone that we have a responsibility to the people and the country.” said Ho, who is the netball representative.
One of the first initiatives the new administration will tackle is amendments to the POC charter, which the International Olympic Committee repeatedly told them as outdated. Another pressing issue is to restart training for the country’s athletes, many of whom had been detained since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic in March.
“In addition to the programs they have already established for athletes, I think it is important to work closely with the PSC and the IATF to resume training for all national teams, not just Olympic hopefuls because we all have competitions to prepare for. for next year, “said Pearl Managuelod, a member of the Muay Thai executive board.
Resuming training is not only the most important thing athletes need, but also funding. Tolentino revealed that he lobbied about P900 million to go to training and allocations for athletes who will compete in international competitions such as the Olympic Games, the SEA Games and the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games.
With how the country’s sports scene flourished in 2019, Cavite Solon believes things will only get better under his leadership.
“With the momentum of the last SEA Games we are definitely on the right track, so we have to move to the right momentum while the spirits of our athletes are high,” he said.
Apart from 2021, another great year for Philippine sports will be the host country of the FIBA World Cup 2023, which will be hosted by newly elected first vice president of basketball Al Panlilio.
“I mean, of course, with the help of the POC and being close to the PSC, hopefully being a member of the POC or first vice president, we would need a lot of help from the government for that hosting to be very successful,” explained Panlilio.
“And the order of march, of course, of our president emeritus [Manny V. Pangilinan] is to make it a really successful World Cup, right? And you know, China did a good job of hosting the last one, technically excellent, but you could see the fans were lacking in passion. And that’s what we bring. So we want this experience to be very, very different from China. “
