Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino. – SUPPORTED PHOTO
Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Bambol Tolentino has set a simple goal for Team Philippines in the 19th Asian Games in September.
“To surpass our medal tally in the previous Asian Games will be quite an achievement,” Tolentino said at the Philippine Sportsmen’s Association Forum on Tuesday, as the POC chief announced that more than 400 bets from 40 sports will be sent to compete against the continent’s best. in Hangzhou, China.
“Climbing up the rankings will be extremely difficult,” Tolentino said, referring to the country’s improvement from 19th place in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018, where Yuka Sasso led the Filipinos’ four-gold rush to win the women’s singles. and leading his team to the title.
Sasso, for one, will no longer be around after the Bulacan-raised prodigy acquired Japanese citizenship after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Other gold winners for Indonesia were skateboarder Margielin Didal and weightlifter Hidilyn Dias. Filipino athletes also collected two silvers from boxer Rogen Ladon and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe, and 15 bronzes.
Led by EJ Obiena, Caloy Yulo, Diaz, Didal and the country’s experienced boxers Eumir Marcial and Carlo Paalam, they are expected to deliver in China and if they all deliver, they can easily wipe out those four gold in Indonesia.
The POC set standards for the Asian Games, where gold and silver medalists at the recent 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Cambodia were provided with toys, explaining the inflated number of athletes.
The Philippine team finished fifth in the last SEA Games with 58 gold, 85 silver and 117 bronze medals.
Team sports such as basketball, soccer, volleyball, rugby sevens, softball and baseball swell the list.
China, Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, among others, are still expected to compete against each other in the overall championship, along with some Middle Eastern countries and neighbors. INQ:
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