Romasanta to nat’l bets: Be proud, you have done your best

GUANGZHOU—Halfway through the 16th Asian Games, Joey Romasanta has stopped counting the number of times that athletes had approached him to offer their apologies. “One by one, they’ve been coming to me saying they’re sorry for their poor performance,” Romasanta, the country’s chief of mission to these Games, told the Inquirer. “Each time, I have to tell them that we are grateful for the performance they’ve been showing.” As the Games stretches to its final week, the Philippines has garnered a measly two golds, two silvers and eight bronzes. And Romasanta is still hopeful that there’ll be more to come. “We still have boxing and hopefully, karate and wrestling,” said the former executive director of Project: Gintong Alay. “There might be medals there.” What has him perplexed, though, is the rash of apologies he’s been receiving. “How do you react to that?” Romasanta said after the national delegation attended Mass Sunday morning. “What do you tell athletes who say sorry after having given their best? Taekwondo is going home bruised and torn. They gave us four bronze medals and they’re saying sorry. “I told them to just be proud of the effort they’ve given.” Mikee Cojuangco Jaworski, the 2002 show jumping gold medalist in equestrian who carried the flag for the delegation during the opening ceremonies, said she was more than proud of the performance of the Filipino athletes. “We sometimes ask too much from our athletes,” she said. And despite the beating the country has been taking in the medal tally, Jaworski said those who still have to compete should not give up hope. “It’s not over until it’s over,” she said. “I should know.” In the 2002 Busan Asiad, the Philippine delegation was all set to return home smarting from one of the most painful basketball defeats ever after losing to South Korea on a three-point dagger at the buzzer in the semifinals. But Jaworski pulled off a stunning last ride in equestrian to nail a gold on the last day of the Games to send the delegation home on the wings of victory. “As long as you do your best and don’t allow yourself to be pushed around in competition, you have every reason to be proud,” said Jaworski. F. Ochoa