Marcial throws counterpunch for embattled, hands-tied Magno

Everything is falling into place for Eumir Felix Marcial’s (left)
pro plans and Olympic bid. —SHERWIN VARDELEON

Boxer Eumir Marcial, one of the early qualifiers for the Philippines in the Tokyo Olympics, just unleashed a combination to come to the defense of embattled compatriot Irish Magno.

“If we decide to speak up, we end up being in the wrong. Irish deleted her post because she was asked to. Now, I’m going to be wrong, too, for speaking out and not reaching out,” Marcial wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon, referring to a controversial Magno post that was since deleted after it created an uproar and put sports leaders in a bad light.

“I’ve been reaching [out] since last year. You asked me what I needed over here, but nothing has happened,” a portion of the entry read, with Marcial referring to no one in particular.

Marcial’s post comes on the heels of a post made by Magno on Tuesday, where Magno said her allowance from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has been delayed for two months now.

“It’s difficult to focus on our Olympic training if you know that your family in the province has barely enough to eat. It’s hard because you’re the only one they rely on. Two months on and we still don’t have our allowance. That’s the only thing we athletes rely on,” she wrote in Filipino.

https://www.facebook.com/eumirfelix.marcial/posts/3848220368589228?__cft__[0]=AZUZQXG5Sgzy4hgnaRqud_xvcCICNVuvdNDYoXTZidS-5byvTTZD7TJ21qKsuS8w6zqJ8nIaNKH4u5GR4SQoqLzuOjcQ60pdMn8w0LrUax8egrmv_q7sqvL6B17awiwfOpI&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Magno took the post down hours later and wrote another entry explaining she had to delete it for “personal reasons.”

She went on to thank everyone who is supporting her, adding “Good vibes lang po tayo.”

“Our morale’s taking a hit because we’re doing everything we could just to bag a gold medal. But we are really not having enough support,” Marcial went on.

“While we understand that there’s a pandemic, we just hope us athletes are not forgotten. The Olympics is just around the corner. Let’s not wait for the next one,” he added.

The Tokyo Summer Games, barring any more changes, will begin on July 23.

Magno and a small Filipino contingent are currently in Thailand training for the Olympics in a bid to address the Filipinos’ dire need for sparring partners.

Marcial ended by writing: “Please Filipinos, help us and join us to get the gold medal that we have been wanting to get for a long time.”

This reaction by Marcial also comes on the day when the Inquirer had obtained a document saying that the PSC spent more than P523 million in funding Olympic sports last year. A total of 62 national sports associations (NSAs) under the Philippine Olympic Committee benefited from this.

These NSAs, all private and autonomous, likewise got a humongous financial allotment from the PSC in 2019 of nearly P1.2 billion and translated the assistance into an overall title for Team Philippines in the 31st Southeast Asian Games. —With reports from June Navarro