FILE––EJ Obiena, center, with Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico and Patafa official Edward Kho. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines-Back into each other’s arms, the peace that now reigns between pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) could have a ripple effect on Team Philippines in the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Commissioner Ramon Fernandez of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) expressed optimism on Tuesday that their reconciliation would boost the morale of Filipino athletes in their bid to generate another exceptional output in the coming Hanoi, Vietnam, Games.
“With EJ and Patafa finally mending fences, it will have a positive effect that will resonate on the entire team [going to the SEA Games],” said the Philippine chef de mission during Tuesday’s digital Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
The PSC solved the long-standing rift between Obiena, the world’s No. 5 vaulter, and his mother federation Patafa after nearly six months of disagreement triggered by liquidation irregularities on Obiena’s payment of salaries to his Ukranian coach, Vitaly Petrov.
On Monday, Obiena had a cordial meeting with his track and field teammates and Patafa officials in a Zoom gathering facilitated by the PSC, ultimately putting the lid on the controversy as they move forward to seeing action in the Hanoi Games on May 12-23.
“It was a learning experience for us all. For us in the PSC, the experience is historical because it is our first-ever foray into sports mediation and it showed us areas where we can craft policies for improvement,” said PSC Chair William Ramirez, the sole mediator of the entire peace-making process.
The Philippines’ Ernest John Obiena competes during the indoor men’s pole vault Beijer gala event in Uppsala, Sweden, on February 9, 2022. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)
Obiena, the Asian record-holder in his event, is a cinch to retain his gold medal in the SEA Games with vast improvements in his performance while training and competing in Europe for the past seven years.
“The presence of EJ in the team will be encouraging. Our athletes saw that the PSC can mediate if they have problems with their NSAs (national sports associations),’’ said Fernandez. “We should learn lessons from that incident.”
Obiena’s inclusion could add to the country’s gold-medal drive to keep the overall title in Hanoi with 646 Filipino athletes from 39 sports wanting to stand on the podium and hear the Philippine national anthem.
Team Philippines captured the overall title in 2019 when the country hosted the Games, collaring 149 gold medals, 117 silvers and 121 bronzes. But a large chunk of these medalists won’t be in Vietnam
Athletes from football, kickboxing, diving, chess, handball, pencak silat, rowing and kurash are expected to settle in Hanoi prior to the opening ceremony on May 12 with the football draw scheduled Tuesday. INQ