POC braces for Asian Games

The Philippines will compete in 46 of the 61 sports calendared for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from 10 to 25 September next year.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino said the POC submitted the list to the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee last Friday.

Filipino athletes will be competing in aquatics, archery, athletics, baseball, softball, men’s basketball, men’s 3x3 basketball, boxing, canoe-kayak and cycling MTB and BMX.

Also on Team Philippines’ list are breaking, men’s dragon boat, equestrian, fencing, men’s football, golf, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, judo, jiu-jitsu, kurash, karate, bridge, chess, esports, xiangqi, modern pentathlon, skateboarding, rowing and men’s rugby.

Completing the list are sailing, sepak takraw, shooting, sports climbing, squash, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s beach volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.

Tolentino, also the PhilCycling president, said it is high time for Filipino athletes to perform better in the Asian Games after the country’s two-time domination of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

“We submitted our list last Friday and we based our list on our effort to surpass our last achievement of four gold medals because we improved a lot in the SEA Games,” Tolentino, who appointed Dr. Jose Raul Canlas of surfing as chief of mission to Hangzhou, said.

Canlas said the groundwork for the preparation and participation in the Asian Games already started last week.

“We started working on the Asian Games because next year is an election year, so it’s transition year for the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission),” Canlas said.