By Nick Giongco
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) will formally file its request to include a few sports where Filipinos have genuine chances of winning gold medals when the Southeast Asian Games holds another round of talks next week.
After meeting for the first time last Friday, POC President Bambol Tolentino said yesterday that the 36 sports that Vietnam identified is already cast in stone.
“That number is fixed. Hindi na gagalaw yan. Hindi na mababawasan. We’ll just try to add,” said Tolentino, who will lobby for arnis, obstacle course and triathlon when the 11-member nations of the ASEAN go online anew on July 21 and 22.
Apart from centerpiece sport athletics and swimming, Hanoi, the main hub of the 2021 SEAG, also approved Olympic and Asian Games mainstays archery, badminton, basketball, canoe-kayak, cycling, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, judo, karate, rowing, shooting, table-tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.
Others given the green light include billiards and snooker, chess, dance sport, Muay, pencak silat, petanque, sepak takraw and wushu as well as regional staples bodybuilding, finswimming, kickboxing, kurash and vovinam.
Tolentino is aiming to add a few more in a bid to bolster the Philippines’ chances following its landmark victory in 2019 with 149 gold medals in 56 sports and 530 events.
In 2021, Vietnam is pruning down the list, leaving the Philippines scrambling on its quest to win the overall crown.
Traditionally, the SEAG countries give each other leeway as far as the inclusion of sports and events in the spirit of camaraderie.
Tolentino will know next week if goodwill among SEAG nations is very much alive.
