POC axes PSI

Philippine Olympic Committee president Ricky Vargas would love to see the best swimmers compete for the country under a unified association.

“I believe in inclusion,” said Vargas on Tuesday after the POC announced the suspension of the Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) as a regular voting member. “I don’t like exclusion. It takes away the better athlete.”

The suspension came despite PSI’s recognition from the Asia Swimming Federation, the governing body of aquatic sports in the continent.

The POC also voided the recent election of Lani Velasco as PSI head after the group of former swimming star Akiko Thomson-Guevara and Ral Rosario questioned the legitimacy of her presidency.