PH HEIGHTENS QUEST FOR OLYMPICS GOLD

It may be from traditional favorite boxing, or from the rising female athletes of the country. One thing’s for sure, the country is optimistic about its chances of ending an Olympic gold drought in Tokyo in 2020.

Boxing has always been a source of hope for the country in the Summer Games, but for the Japan edition, focus will fall on a handful of female athletes whose golden shot will be propped by a foundation dedicated to making the Filipino Olympic dream come true.

Rio de Janeiro Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz leads the way for the Philippines with judokas Kiyoma Watanabe and Mariya Takahashi, also drawing spotlight to their own bids.

The game plan of both the PSC and the Philippine Olympic Committee is simple: Provide promising athletes with as much international training and support as possible. And they will get a big boost from the Siklab Atleta Pilipinas Sports Foundation, which was launched last March with the goal of augmenting the country’s financial resources to support the hunt for the Olympic gold.

The foundation brings together the nation’s largest businesses, who will pool their funds to purchase proper support, training equipment, facilities, coaching, exposure to international competitions, education, housing, and livelihood programs.

Diaz has extra motivation to perform well in Tokyo after having said she will retire after the 2020 Games to concentrate on raising a family.