The delegation from the Philippines parades during the opening ceremony of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh on May 5, 2023. –CAMBODIA 2023 PHOTO
PHNOM PENH—Conditions on the selection of athletes for the 19th Asian Games will drastically change.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol’’ Tolentino said the composition of the delegation to the Hangzhou, China continental sports fest on Sept. 23-Oct. 8 would hinge on the gold-medal tally of the just-concluded 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
“There will be changes when we choose the athletes who will represent us in the Asian Games,’’ said Tolentino.
“We will prioritize the gold medalists and probably look at the silver performers, too,’’ added Tolentino.
Prior to his trip to this bustling Cambodian capital, Tolentino filled a big white board back home with medal projections across all participating sports.
Although most of his predictions materialized, some sports in Tolentino’s forecast came short due to whimsical decisions in subjective sports and injuries or, at worst, simply because of non-performance.
“Most of my predictions hit their mark. But for some NSAs (national sports associations), it didn’t,’’ said Tolentino.
Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
According to the Tagaytay City mayor and three-time Cavite representative, non-performing NSAs could be allowed to try their luck in the Asian Games.
“For those who still want to join, we will not endorse them to the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) and they have to pay for their own,’’ said Tolentino.
“There are those who will go home with zero golds and almost zero (medals). If you based it on the grades in a report card, these NSAs got NI (needs improvement),’’ added Tolentino.
Filipino athletes from 38 sports amassed 58 gold medals, 85 silvers and 117 bronzes, which was good enough for fifth overall but ended up far better than the country’s 52-gold haul in Vietnam.
The biggest collection came from arnis and taekwondo with six golds each while boxing, gymnastics, obstacle racing, wrestling and athletics supplied four gold medals apiece. Athletes from jiujitsu, kickboxing and soft tennis chipped in three golds each.
Gymnast Carlo Yulo remained the top gold producer for the second SEA Games in a row with two gold medals in the men’s artistic all-around and parallel bars while two-time Olympian swimmer Jasmine Alkhaldi had a total of six medals—three silvers and three bronzes.