OIC FERNANDEZ COMES TO AID OF POC, PLANS TO REOPEN GYM DOORS FOR OLYMPIC HOPEFULS

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will push for the resumption of intensive training of Olympic-bound athletes and those looking to qualify for the Tokyo Games after the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) aired recently the delays that struck their preparations.

Much of the delays were caused by the monthslong lockdown brought about by the coronavirus health crisis.

PSC Commissioner Ramon Fernandez, the agency’s officer in charge while Chair William “Butch” Ramirez attends to family concerns, intends to reopen the doors of the boxing gym inside Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila to aid national boxers’ Olympic aspirations. Middleweight Eumir Marcial and flyweight Irish Magno have already qualified for Tokyo while featherweight champion Nesthy Petecio is hoping to grab an Olympic berth via a wildcard tournament.

“I was told that we can open the boxing gym, so Eumir can train again,’’ Fernandez said.

Since the wave of community quarantines that hit Luzon nearly four months ago, Marcial was seen in social media growing vegetables and tending the garden at the backyard of his home in Imus, Cavite, instead of spending a large fraction of his time training.

Fernandez said the return of other contact sports athletes in training is likewise being pushed, particularly those who are seeking Olympic spots.

“Once we get to open the gym, we will enforce strict physical distancing. We may even require participants to undergo testing [for COVID-19] before allowing them to train there,’’ Fernandez said.

While Olympic-bound athletes who stay overseas such as pole vaulter EJ Obiena and gymnast Carlos Yulo are keeping abreast with the training of their rivals, the preparations of Marcial and Magno and the Olympic aspirants continue to suffer interruptions due to the prolonged quarantine, said POC president Abraham “Bambol’’ Tolentino.

“We have to catch up in training, especially for those who stayed here in the country throughout the quarantine period. Hopefully by this month, they can go full blast with their respective preparations,’’ Tolentino said.

—SHERWIN VARDELEON Eumir Marcial (right) connects with a left against Vietnam’s Nguyen Manh Cuong on the way to the middleweight gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games last year. Marcial hasn’t trained as intensively for the Olympics because of restrictive quarantine measures.