PHILIPPINE national athletes will have a busy 2021 with a number of multisports events to be held, but the biggest question is will those push through in the middle of the still raging coronavirus pandeminc. Here’s the rundown of those competitions.
Asian Beach Games
From April 2 to 10, the Philippines is expected to take part in the first multisport competition amidst the pandemic in the sixth Asian Beach Games to be held in Sanya, China. Meggie Ochoa and Annie Ramirez of jiu-jitsu copped the gold for the country in the previous edition held in Danang, China in 2016.
Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
The third edition of these quadrennial multisports event is taking place May 21-30 in Bangkok and Chonburi in Thailand with 29 sports including the likes of 3x3 basketball, billiards, chess, kickboxing, muay, and sambo. The Philippines collected the biggest haul in these games in 2017 when it won two golds, 14 silvers, and 14 bronzes in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Asian Youth Games
Asia’s best youth athletes will see action from November 20 to 28 in the fourth Asian Youth Games in Shantou, China. The third edition was cancelled in 2017 but the Philippines participated in 2013 in Nanjing, China with jin Pauline Lopez and golfer Mia Legaspi winning the gold medals.
Asian Youth Paragames
The biggest event for differently-abled athletes will also be held this year in the Asian Youth Paragames to be held in Manama, Bahrain from December 1 to 10. The Philippines copped a bronze four years ago in Dubai.
Southeast Asian Games
The Philippines will defend its SEA Games crown this year when Hanoi, Vietnam hosts the biennial meet from November 21 to December 2. The host country has lowered the number of events from 56 in 2019 to 40 this year, which will definitely affect the Philippines’ chances of obtaining the overall championship. So far, the games are still a go despite the coronavirus still very active in the region.
Olympics
The biggest sporting event of 2020 was moved to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will now be played from July 23 to August 8 in Tokyo. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the host country, so far, are moving towards the Olympic Games to push through amidst the worldwide threat. Olympic qualifiers Caloy Yulo, Eumir Marcial, and EJ Obiena are in deep preparations abroad despite the pandemic, while others such as Hidilyn Diaz are also building up in order to formally make it to the Olympics. Filipino Olympic athletes such as Irish Magno and others still looking to secure a place in Tokyo will soon train under a bubble set-up still being arranged by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph