‘Tokyo ticket’ national open moved to December

Scrapped due to the COVID-19 crisis, organizers have moved the 2020 Philippine Athletics Championships near the end of the year.

Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) president Philip Ella Juico said the meet should push through since the national track and field open would be an Olympic qualifier that could draw the foreign bets yearning to book a ticket to the Tokyo Olympics next year.

“We will relaunch the national open middle of December 2020. This will be an Olympic qualifier and we hope to attract foreign teams,’’ Juico said.

Originally scheduled on May 27 to 31, Patafa was forced to shelve the tournament after the government imposed a Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine until May 15.

“Our local athletes will have a chance to compete [for the first time] since the UAAP and NCAA canceled their competitions because of the coronavirus,’’ Juico said.

Despite the two-month quarantine brought about by the pandemic, Juico said their athletes continue to train, especially those who are looking forward to competing in Olympic qualifiers.