On the heels of successful runs in international competitions, Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP) president Alvin Aguilar says that in the next Southeast Asian Games, the country’s wrestling team will take home at least eight medals.
“There’s no other way. We need to shoot for the stars,” Aguilar said on Tuesday during the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Pizza in Malate, Manila.
WAP contingents took home three golds, six silvers and five bronzes in the Southeast Asian Cadets and Juniors Championship in Thailand, and followed it up with another strong showing in the Southeast Asian Senior Championship in Singapore, bagging four golds, seven silvers and two bronzes.
Aguilar beamed with pride with the way the Filipino wrestlers had fared in international competitions and said if only wrestling was included as a sport in the 2015 SEA Games, the delegation could have improved the medal output of the country.
“We had very good results in the international stage, but in the next SEA Games, we were assured that wrestling will once again be there,” he said.
Aguilar, who is also the president of Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC), also laid down the plans for WAP, including the strengthening of the grassroots program for the sport by introducing wrestling to public schools.
“We’re going to have tie-ups with DepEd (Department of Education) to start wrestling seminars. We also want to educate public school teachers to teach wrestling to the youth,” he said.
Aguilar also welcomed the possibility of former UFC middleweight contender Mark Muñoz boosting the country’s wrestling program, saying, “Mark is always welcome. All the help is welcome. There’s so many talented wrestlers abroad. We need as much help as we can get. If Mark can go, he’s very, very welcome.”