EDITORIAL - Another dismal performance

It is quite a puzzle why a country of approaching 90 million people could not produce a gold medal in the Olympics. Still, it remains quite a puzzle why, for almost 100 years of Olympic participation, the Philippines could not even dominate a single sport.

At the ongoing Beijing Olympics, the Philippines seems to be heading for another medal shutout. Halfway through the Games, the country has yet to win a single round in any event that it participated in its march toward the elusive gold.

Its best bet for the gold, Harry Tañamor, did not even reach first base, bowing to Ghanaian Mangyo Plange in the elimination round of boxing's flyweight division. It was a stunning upset since Tañamor was being tipped by the prestigious Sports Illustrated to win the silver in his weight class.

Now, with the remaining Filipino athletes facing uphill battle against the world's best, it may just be another unfortunate exit for the country. This is not to demean the capability of remaining athletes to pull off a golden miracle. But at a rate things are going, they indeed need a miracle to put the Philippines on the medal list.

Many would wonder what went wrong with the Philippine sports. The country has been participating in the Olympics since 1924 but has never had the golden opportunity to win the gold.

The closest the country has the opportunity to bag the gold was when Anthony Villanueva and Mansueto Velasco fought in boxing finals. Both lost in controversial fashion. But those were many Olympics ago and the Philippines never had the chance to recover from those frustrating and demoralizing defeats.

Now in the aftermath of this another dismal performance by the country's athletes, another finger-pointing scenario on who's to blame is expected to arise between its sports officials. It has been the name of the game that whenever Filipino athletes suffer setback in their campaign overseas, bickerings would normally erupt between the country's sports officials.

What the country needs is a concrete long-term program that should start at the grassroots level. There are countless talents from across the country that, if given proper training and government support, can give the best in the world a run for their money. 

The government has no short of funds for this ambitious program, as seen in the hundreds of millions of pesos that it infused into various sporting programs. But only a concerted effort from among sports agencies can the Philippines be on the right path towards the Olympic gold.