THE organizing committee of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games approved the 116 Philippine athletes that will compete in the multisports conclave in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Among the athletes that made the eligibility requirements of the competition are Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, and Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Samuel Morrison of taekwondo and Chezka Centeno of taekwondo.
Team Philippines will be staying at the 157-hectare Olympic Village, where the Athletes Village is also located along with other venues, according to deputy chef de mission Raymund Lee Reyes.
"Their provisions are very generous. Our only challenge is internet access as social media is blocked and monitored by the government for security reasons," said Reyes, who added concerns with internet access were already relayed during the chef de mission meeting on Sunday.
The bulk of the delegation for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games will leave for Turkmenistan on Wednesday via a chartered Philippine Airlines plane, with the team welcome ceremony in the Athletes Village set to take place on Friday, where the Philippine flag will be raised.
The meet formaly opens on opening ceremony is scheduled on Sunday.
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