Flagged

Boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam bear the Philippine flag in the opening ceremonies of Paris Olympics a month from now. Why them? The better question should have been why not them?

Both slugged to gold but lost in Tokyo. Petecio made history as the first Filipino woman to box for Olympic gold. Paalam repeated history when he reprised the almost there feat of Anthony Villanueva and Onyok Velasco.

So whats the big deal with being a flag bearer? It is the ultimate representation of the country, marching ahead of the delegation and carrying the identity of the nation. Although we have been globally identified for the wrong reasons, athleticism is definitely one righteous cause for celebration.

This years delegation could turn out one of the biggest the country ever sent. Judoka Kiyomi Watanabe is the latest addition, along with swimmers Kayla Sanchez and Harold Hatch. There are now 18 men and women.

But these qualifiers all compete in individual events. Should have been easy to add more had we qualified for team sports. But women s volleyball is a long shot. Men s basketball is longer. Yoyong Martires went to the great beyond without seeing another team represent the country. The basketball great was part of the last Philippine team that played in Olympic basketball. In 1972.

Breaching the 20-member mark is achievable. On paper, two more from golf are expected to qualify. Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Arnida are well within the top 60 cut off for the Olympics. It is just a matter of time.

A universal entry from athletics is also expected to be named. He, could be hurdler Eric Cray, or she, could be sprinter Kristina Knott, will join the first Filipino qualifier to Paris, the vault phenom EJ Obiena. Why not him to bear the flag by the way? He has all the credentials. World number 2. World silver medalist. 6-meter club member. And recently back to back gold medalist in Poland, the first of which he cleared 5.97m, his third highest jump ever. To top it all, he is home grown. Authentic.

He has been winning everywhere, except the Olympics. The one that matters. In Tokyo he flopped, finishing out of medal contention and even out of top 10. This could be one reason why he wasn t chosen to carry the burden. Or, he may have been omitted on purpose, to spare him from carrying that familiar stick even before the competition. Bearing the flag in the stadium is one thing, standing on top of the podium is everything.

Give him a break. Obiena deserves a respite. He and the other Olympians are already burdened with representation and expectation, their countrymen should share the duty not only to raise the flag for the country, but more so to assert its sovereignty, especially in the sea. War is out of equation, the country is right but weak in that aspect. But in the law of nations, it is both right and strong. It is where it wins, unless it chooses to lose another win.