Grandstands remain empty before the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games men’s group A first round football match between Mexico and France at Tokyo Stadium in Tokyo on July 22, 2021. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
TOKYO—Nesthy Petecio chuckled as she mentioned how competing in the Tokyo Olympics gave her an opportunity to visit Japan for the first time.
“It’s exciting because my older brother and my older sister is there and I have nephews and nieces who I will be seeing for the first time,” the reigning women’s featherweight world champion told the Inquirer’s SportsIQ in Filipino before departing a training camp in Japan.
And family is important to Petecio.
“My family is my lucky charm,”she said.
The Petecio kin count here is actually closer to 30 and the 29-year-old boxer had asked a sports official how to procure tickets for them to watch her fight.
But that was before Tokyo, dealing with a surge of COVID-19 infections, padlocked Olympic venues and turned the Games into a spectator-less event.
“To be honest, it’s sad,” said Hidilyn Diaz, also in an interview with SportsIQ. But pragmatism held sway over emotion and Diaz admitted that it was a sacrifice athletes were willing to make to be able to showcase their skills after years of preparation.
“So I guess having no audience is good if it allows Filipinos to show their talents in the Olympics,” Diaz added.
The Olympic organizers’ decision to ban fans from venues may have hurt the host delegation most, but in a way, it also affected Filipino athletes here. A lot of the country’s Olympic bets were counting on support from compatriots who have made Tokyo their second home.
A general view shows flags over empty seats by the court at Aomi Urban Sports Park, the main venue for 3×3 basketball during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in Tokyo on July 19, 2021. (Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP)
Primarily because of employment opportunities, the Filipino migrant population here has been pegged by the latest survey at 325,000. That meant that even with a ban on tourists already enforced, the Philippines has a deep pool of supporters already based here.
And going by the experience of Gilas Pilipinas in various parts of the world, a Filipino cheering section can get really loud and motivational, and that would have provided Filipino athletes here a slice of home while competing in the world’s grandest sporting stage.
And Team Philippines officials said they had made every effort to give Filipinos here a chance to cheer for their Olympians.
COVID-19 Liaison Officer and lawyer Billy Sumagui said they had purchased a bunch of tickets in advance and that he was in a discussion with the Philippine embassy here on how to distribute the tickets to the Filipino community.
A raging pandemic rendered that effort moot.
“A lot of Filipinos would have loved to get those tickets and watch the games,” said embassy staff member Richard Roldan.
Aside from Petecio, golfer Yuka Saso also has family here. Judo star Kiyomi Watanabe’s mother Irene, who hails from Cebu, is also here. None of them can watch the Games.
“This is a different Olympics and the setup is different,” Diaz said.
Watanabe, speaking in Japanese, said she has already come to terms with the situation.
“I will do my best for the people to enjoy the match in front of their TV since [the] Olympics this time will be with no spectators,” Watanabe said.