INQUIRER Sports

ATHLETICS CHIEF Go Teng Kok didn?t want it said that he is caught in between two rival wushu factions.

?I am not caught in between, but you can say I am 100 percent involved in the current issues,? said GTK, whose assistance was reportedly sought by the traditional Filipino-Chinese members of the Wushu Federation of the Philippines.

The source of the problem, according to GTK, will not be understood or appreciated, unless the history of the WFP is told.

Thus, for the second time in two days, I listened as he related the brief history of the association which, as I understand it, was founded here by Filipino-Chinese.

I could?ve told GTK I already knew the history and the root of the trouble, but I wanted to compare his account with that by another Filipino-Chinese a day earlier.

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There is actually nothing new in what is happening at the WFP. It?s just another case of two leaderships in one national sport association (NSA).

Tai Lian, the popular choice, was voted president unanimously in May 2008, replacing Julian Camacho who had served two four-year terms and was therefore no longer eligible to run.

As I was told, Camacho did not want to step down. He tried to stop the May elections, which was attended by then-POC chair Robert Aventajado, but he failed.

However, he succeeded in installing another president and himself as secretary general.

The other president?s name is Tan Si Ling and, if my sources are to be believed, he does not know a thing about wushu. He and Camacho took over wushu several months after the elections.

?But it?s still actually Camacho who runs the show,? said GTK.

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Now, I?m not sure if Tai Lian was shoved aside or if he offered the majority?s mandate to Camacho and Tan on a silver platter.

All I know is that POC president Jose ?Peping? Cojuangco refused to recognize the May elections and the Tai Lian leadership, which GTK seems inclined to support.

However, he also professes loyalty to the man he calls his boss, Cojuangco.

As everyone in the POC family knows, Camacho is ?one of Peping?s three sons.?

The two others, according to them, are Steve Hontiveros of bowling and Mark Joseph of swimming.

Camacho, upon his return from the Beijing Olympics last year, pledged his support to Cojuangco who was running for reelection as POC head.

?In Camacho, Peping was assured of one vote. He was not too sure of Tai Lian. This is one reason why the May election was never recognized by the POC,? said one source.

Tai enjoys the full support of all the athletes and officials of the WFD, he added.

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GTK said he has orders from his boss that he intends to follow.

?He told me to fix the problem and I will do it,? GTK said.

How he plans to do it is supposed to be confidential.