It’s understandable that our country is sharply focused on hosting the best-ever Southeast Asian Games in its 30th edition from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 this year.
But are we forgetting about the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games next year and their qualifying tournaments starting in earnest this July?
Winning the overall championship and wrapping ourselves around the flag in an inferior multisport event like the 11-country SEA Games is one thing.
Finally ending the search for the Holy Grail of PH sports—our first-ever Olympic gold medal since 1924 that would send us dancing in the streets—is another.
“We called national sports associations (NSAs) for Olympic sports to a dialogue this week about our twin objectives—sending more qualifiers and winning that elusive first gold,” said Joey Romasanta, chef de mission of the Philippine team to the Tokyo Games set July 28 to Aug. 9, 2020.
As the elected first vice president of the local Olympics body, Romasanta, also first Veep during the reign of former Philippine Olympic Committee President Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr., traditionally becomes PH delegation head for the second time.
Peping’s trusted lieutenant, Romasanta, was likewise mission chief to the 2016 Rio Olympics where weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won a silver medal. That’s only the third miss for gold in the 95 years that PH had participated in the conclave for the world’s best athletes.
“Before we talk medals, let’s qualify our athletes first,” said Romasanta, who was officially appointed last week by Ricky Vargas, voted in as Cojuangco’s replacement last year.
Romasanta told me that based on the current records of local Olympic hopefuls, plus the gender equality rules in lieu of the wild-card invitations from the International Olympic Committee, “we are hopeful that 18 athletes could book tickets to Tokyo next year.”
“That would be our biggest Olympics athletic delegation ever and that’s not even counting the surprise qualifiers like in the case of the late Ian Lariba, who made it to table tennis action in Rio,” Romasanta recalled.
“We are looking at potential Olympic qualifiers in taekwondo, archery, weightlifting, table tennis, judo, swimming, golf, canoeing and even marathon.”
Romasanta said golf officials in Tokyo are high on the promise of Yuka Saso and have expressed willingness to train her.
Half-Japanese, Saso won two golds as the individual ladies winner and as a member of the champion Filipino ladies team in the Jakarta Asian Games last year.
Meanwhile, the boxers, best hopes to end our Olympic gold medal drought, aren’t counted in yet because of developments in the AIBA, their governing body.
The IOC has launched an inquiry “into the finances and governance of AIBA, which has been in turmoil for years, and warned that it could miss out on the Tokyo Games next year,” reported the Associated Press recently.