Palace sendoff for Olympians?

I LEARNED that the Philippine Olympic Committee is wishing for a sendoff by President- elect Rodrigo Duterte for the country’s official delegation to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics that begins on Aug. 5.

POC first vice president and spokesperson Joey Romasanta hopes a request for the gesture in Malacañang would go down well with Digong’s aides since this could very well be his first official sports act as Chief Executive.

No, the planned call on Duterte is not part of a charm offensive led by the POC president Jose Cojuangco Jr., outgoing President Aquino’s uncle, to win the heart of the new Palace occupant.

An official farewell for our athletes is a tradition and an act of courtesy on the part of sports officials, according to Romasanta, the PH chef de mission to Rio.

Duterte still has to appoint a new Chair of the Philippine Sports Commission, the country’s sports policy-making body.

A private entity, the POC is the wizard behind the curtains that pulls the levers for the PSC and most of the national sports associations.

Excitement for the country’s highly politicized Olympic body does not stop with its desire to calendar a bonding moment with Duterte any day from July 16 to 18, with a few athletes in tow. This year’s contingent to Brazil could be the slimmest in the country’s 93 years of regular Olympic participation.

The POC is faced with pre-Rio issues that will cause its officials to go cross-eyed dealing with paperwork and meeting deadlines.

This late, the PH Olympic roster remains incomplete since qualifying tournaments for the Summer Games do not end until July 11.

There are only six certified Olympians as of this writing—boxers Roger Ladon and Charly Suarez, tracksters Eric Cray and Marestella Torres-Sunang, taekwondo-jin Elaine Elora and table tennis champ Ian Lariba.

Long jumper Sunang failed to meet the Olympic standard for her specialty but got in via the Universality clause. She could lose her spot should Mary Joy Tabal’s Olympic qualifying time for a marathon in Canada last month gets approved by world track officials.

Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz has medaled consistently in the Asian and World Weightlifting Championships but has not gotten an official nod from her international federation.

Ditto with US Open golf campaigner Miguel Tabuena, presently 38th in the International Golf Federation’s Olympic rankings. For inclusion in the POC roll, Tabuena will have to wait until July 11 with the release of the final 60 world golf qualifiers. A second Pinoy golfer, Angelo Que, is clinging to the 52nd spot.

Likewise striving for a Rio ticket is boxer Eumir Marcial in the last ring qualifying tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. The welterweight took a first-round bye and will take on Abbas Baraou of Germany today.

Also, the outcome of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament for basketball, where the Gilas Pilipinas team is competing at the Mall of Asia Arena on July 5 to 10, will be closely watched.

Meantime, the deadline for submitting athletes and other Philippine contingent members by name is July 18.
Delegation registration, including room assignments, must be done by July 22 because the Olympic Village opens on July 24.