PH taekwondo exec backs PSC move to cancel national games

FILE – PH’s Dave Cea competes in the quarterfinals of the 2019 SEA Games Taekwondo tournament in Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Stephen Fernandez, Philippine Taekwondo Association’s regional affairs chief, said he is rallying behind Philippine Sports Commission’s move to do away with national sporting events due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m with the PSC on (the move) since activities can wait and have their own time again,” he told the Inquirer. “Safety and health are first and most important for athletes, organizers, and spectators.”

“The PTA is adapting also. For now, we’re going with online training and programs while we can’t congregate [during] the ECQ and forthcoming GCQ,” he added.

Taekwondo is one of the many sports that could be hardest hit by the scrapping of large-scale events. Martial arts have been a perennial favorite by amateurs during school breaks.

But Fernandez, a former Olympian, can’t help but feel for the athletes.

“It’s really tough that you can’t train like normal [days],” he said. “But just like in life, we have to be resilient.”

“Just like in a match, or a game, when things are not going as you like or planned, one has to change tactics and re-strategize in order to overcome and succeed.”

As for the national athletes, Fernandez said in an earlier interview that PTA’s wards have been given program to train with while in isolation.

The PTA is pinning its Olympic dreams on Pauline Lopez, Sam Morrison, Dave Cea and Kurt Barbarosa, and Kirstie Alora, among others, for the Summer Games that have been postponed to 2021.