This is happiest PH team, says ‘lucky charm’

PH Olympians in Rio de Janeiro.

RIO DE JANEIRO—Chief of mission Joey Romasanta swears that the batch of Filipino athletes in the Olympic Games here is the happiest, most nonchalant he has ever led to a competition.

But perhaps it’s because of his easy disposition that weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz and the rest of the 13-athlete Philippine delegation here are cheerfully at home with their jovial “mother hen.”

Romasanta, who is also the first vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), can also count on what some officials of the team here say is his “lucky charm.”

Fact: Not one of the three PH delegations that Romasanta has led to battle returned home with a big egg in multi-event competitions.

Romasanta was at the helm of Project: Gintong Alay in 1988, when flyweight boxer Leopoldo Serrantes nailed the country’s only gold medal in the Seoul Asian Games.

He was again chief of mission in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games when, with the Philippines staring at a gold-medal shutout, boxer Rey Saludar, bowler Engelberto “Biboy” Rivera and billiards star Dennis Orcollo ruled their respective events.

And then came Rio and Diaz ended the country’s 20-year dry spell in the Olympics by bagging the silver medal in weightlifting’s 53-kilogram class.

“Me, a lucky charm? Coincidences perhaps,” said Romasanta when reminded of his fine streak. “All I can say is every time our athletes go to fight here they are focused and happy.

“Magaan lahat silang dalhin (They’re easy to handle).

Then Romasanta erased the smile on his face. “We must press the fight even if Hidilyn has gone home,” he said. “Hopefully, there’ll be more medals.”