Monsour: No promises for 2019 SEA Games

The chef-de-mission of the Philippine team for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in Manila is trying to be careful with his overall projection.

“Everybody wants to be number one. But I am not making any promises,” former taekwondo star Monsour del Rosario told reporters yesterday.

Del Rosario, now a congressman in the first district of Makati, hinted that hosting the SEA Games in 2019 is no guarantee that the country can duplicate its victory in 2005.

The Philippines hosted the event 12 years ago and won the overall title for the first time. “Mabigat na ngayon ang labanan (The competition now is tough). We cannot compare 2019 with 2005. The leaders are different, the athletes are different, the world is different,” said the veteran of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

“We have to adjust and prepare to our maximum best,” he added.

Del Rosario knows what he’s talking about because he has experience.

“For decades, I fought for our country. I broke my nose, my bones and vomited blood in taekwondo,” said the bronze medalist in the 1985 World Championships and 1986 Asian Games.

It’s two more years before the 2019 SEA Games. But the 52-year-old sportsman, politician and movie actor has laid out the blueprint for success.