DIDAL TWEAKS OLYMPIC PLAN
Margielyn Didal had to tweak her Olympic battle plan following the cancellation of a crucial international tournament due to the global surge of coronavirus cases.
Skateboarding president Carl Sambrano yesterday said they have decided to call off Didal’s scheduled training in Brazil after the World Skate decided to cancel a qualifying tourney in Peru next month.
With that, Didal will stay in her hometown, Cebu, where she would harness her skills in a newly-constructed skateboarding facility in the Busay area.
“Our original plan was to train in Brazil before joining the qualifiers in Peru. Unfortunately, the competition had been canceled,” Sambrano said.
“Now, there’s already a training facility for her in Cebu. It’s a private indoor facility exclusively for members of the national team.”
Ranked No. 18 in the world, Didal is tipped to join EJ Obiena, Carlos Yulo, Eumir Marcial and Nesthy Petecio in the Tokyo Olympics in July.
She is supposed to see action in four international tourneys until the deadline for qualification lapses on 29 June.
But with the cancellation of the Peru qualifier, Sambrano said Didal has to change her game plan and stay in the country while waiting for the next qualifier in April.
“It seems our next qualifier will be around April or May. It will all depend on the plans of the international federation,” said Sambrano, who is very upbeat over the chances of the reigning Asian champion.
“We’re hoping that more tournament will open up for Margie in the coming months. But as it is, she already has a good chance at qualifying. She has improved tremendously.”
Our original plan was to train in Brazil before joining the qualifiers in Peru. Unfortunately, the competition had been canceled.