PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino left for the 19th Asian Games on Tuesday, bringing with him high hopes the Philippines will be able to equal, more so surpass, the four gold medals it won in the last edition of the meet in Palembang, Indonesia.
Team Philippines gold-medal bets in Hangzhou Asian Games
Even in the absence of gymnast world champion Caloy Yulo, Tolentino is still optimistic about the campaign of the Filipinos in Hangzhou, China.
The current Tagaytay City mayor is banking on world no.2 pole vaulter EJ Obiena, the always reliable boxing team, weightlifting, and possibly swimming as among the possible source of gold medal for the country.
“Kaya pa even without Caloy (Yulo),” said Tolentino
The 27-year-old Obiena of course, is the Philippines’ top bet after winning the silver medal – a first ever for a Filipino – in the recent World Athletics Championship in Hungary and the gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok, Thailand.
Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam, and Eumir Marcial on the other hand, banner anew the campaign of the Filipino boxers in the meet that serves as qualifier to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A gold and silver in boxing means outright qualification to next year’s Olympiad.
“Motivated ang mga boxers kasi qualifying ito. So hahataw ang mga yan,” said Tolentino.
Making her debut with the national team is Kayla Sanchez, the Fil-Canadian swimmer who won a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics (4x100 meter freestyle) and a pair of silver (4x100 meter mixed freestyle and 4x100 meter freestyle) in last year’s World Championship in Budapest.
The 22-year-old Sanchez, whose parents are both Filipinos, are entered in five events including the 100 meter freestyle and 4x100 meter freestyle relay.
Olympic gold medal winner Hidilyn Diaz is at the forefront of the five-man weightlifting team, which also counts on Asian champion Vanessa Sarno and Asian silver medalists Elreen Ando.
Diaz, 32, though, is going up in weight at 59 kg. as organizers scrapped the 53 kg division where she previously won a gold in the 2018 edition of the Asiad in Palembang, Indonesia.
The Filipina weightlifter was one of four gold-medal winners for the country in the Palembang Asiad along with skateboarder Margilyn Didal and the golf trio of Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan, and Lois Kaye Go.
That’s the number Tolentino is eyeing to equal or surpass.
“Minimum of four. Para bawi lang yung sa Asian Games,” said the POC chief.
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