On Monday, we received an assessment of the Philippine contingent’s campaign in the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia. It was sent by Joseph Dumuk of San Fernando La Union, a math wizard who headed the National Sports Statistics section in the Philippine Olympic Committee in the 1980s. He has continued to follow the national campaign, and sent this count on Monday, ahead of the composite count in national media yesterday, which said the Philippine campaign was headed for doom, as usual.
Here’s Joseph Dumuk:
What a pitiful situation Philippine sports is in!
After topping the Southeast Asian Games in 2005, the country has never placed higher than fifth since then.
Looking back, we were sixth in 2007 with 41 gold medals; 5th in 2009 with 38; 6th in 2011 with 36; 7th in 2013 with 29 and 6th in 2015 also with 29.
In the current SEAG in Malaysia, we are in the middle of the standings. Ahead of us, as of today, are the hosts with 96 gold medals, Thailand (54), Vietnam (52), Singapore (48) and Indonesia (31).
Behind us are Myanmar (7), Laos (2), Cambodia (1) and Brunei and Timor Leste, both with no gold medals to show.
We have 22 of the 313 gold medals awarded so far—about one for every 14!
Our very meager haul of 22 is a far cry from the 50 gold medals predicted by our sports officials with the Kuala Lumpur SEAG in its closing quarter!
When Vietnam hosted the SEAG in 2003, the then head of the Philippine Wrestling Association was asked how many gold medals they expect to win and he answered, “Five.”
After the wrestlers garnered only four gold medals and more than 10 silver medals, the then PWA head resigned.
His answer, when asked why, “Four is less than Five and 10 silver medals do not equal one gold medal!”
When will our sports leaders whose prediction is so far from actuality WAKE UP and act with DELICADEZA?