It won’t be that easy

JAKARTA—A haul of four gold medals, two silver and 15 bronze, is respectable in this Asian Games given all the trials that Philippine sports has been through.

It seems easy to write that sports outside of basketball and volleyball deserve more respect as they are richer sources of medals in international competitions.  But so much more introspection is needed in the days ahead.  Basketball, volleyball and also boxing cannot be simply blamed for hogging the sponsorship packages and the limelight.

The larger view as the athletes, sports officials, media and family and friends go home from Jakarta should be to seriously define what role sports play in our country.  The priority is clearly not as high given our political divisiveness, unpredictable economy and cultural sensitivities.  There is simply so much more to worry about.

If sports do play a much larger role in Filipino life as it does in other countries, then maybe we can expect to have better sports infrastructure, more elite athletes, better coaching and competition.  But the economy is clearly a factor.  In Jakarta, countries that have vibrant economies hired foreign coaches in most disciplines, clearly participated in numerous global competitions and maintain a culture of sports contributing to nation building.

Filipino athletes are not without help though as foundations, vibrant sports associations and private individuals have been lending a hand.  But so much more needs to be done.  The innate skills of Filipino athletes need to be harnessed even more because our opponents who may not be as athletically gifted as Filipinos are training harder and spending more to win in competitions.

We should also look forward while honoring Filipino sports heroes who have won before.  There’s a stirring TV commercial here that shows Indonesian medal winners from the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games encouraging present-day athletes to shine.  We should also use the examples of the past to boost the spirits of the current athletes and not simply say that the good old days of Philippine sports were better than today.

The road ahead won’t be easy. Let’s talk about doing well as a whole in the long run and not just be obsessed with the first Olympic gold medal.