Handball chief Hontiveros decries omission of sport in POC’s SEA Games calendar

The Philippine Handball Federation (PHF) cried foul over its non-inclusion in the Southeast Asian Games the country is hosting next year.

PHF president Steve Hontiveros said that while the SEA Games organizers approved a record 56 sports, it omitted handball, an Olympic sport that has been an emerging discipline in the Philippines the past years.

He said the country has the potential to medal in beach handball, having beaten regional powerhouse Vietnam last year, and making the semifinals of this year’s Asian Beach Handball Grand Prix in China.

“We have a stable grassroots program and a continuous pathway to national team,” said Hontiveros.

The Philippine Olympic Committee had earlier released the sports to be played in the 2019 Games and Hontiveros noted that it includes floor ball, hockey and vovinam, which don’t have a governing body here.

But according to POC spokesperson Ed Picson, former POC president Celso Dayrit, who chairs the SEA Games executive council, said there was no lobby for handball when the council met in Bangkok last week.