Win-or-go ultimatum issued vs Asian Games-bound sepak takraw squad
MANILA, Philippines — Win a medal in the 20th Asian Games or leave the Philippine sepak takraw team.
It’s the challenge hurled by the Pilipinas Sepaktakraw Association Inc. (PSTAI) to the team delegation set to compete in the quadrennial meet later this month in Nagoya, Japan.
PSTAI president Karen Tanchanco-Caballero disclosed the agreement she had with members of the national team pending their departure for the September 19 to October 3 showcase.
“I’d like to share that there is already a courtesy resignation on all athletes if they do not come home with a medal,” Caballero revealed in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Philippine Sports Commission media room.
“Ready sila. Handa rin sila because they have to give way din. I mean, we have given them all the support they needed for so many years. So it’s only fair for the Filipino taxpayers who pay for their allowances and support. So kumbaga, we only expect the best performance from our athletes and coaches.”
Tough as the task is, but Caballero is confident the sepak takraw team will deliver as it did in the recent ISTAF World Sepaktakraw Championship-39thThai King’s Cup in Bangkok where the men’s regu team (3-on-3) bagged a historic silver medal and the women’s quadrant (4-on-4) clinched the bronze medal.
Likewise, the Philippines scored its first podium finish in 33 years during the 2022 Hangzhou Asiad when it won a pair of bronze in the men’s regu and the men’s quadrant.
Combined with the extensive training the team has undergone leading to the Nagoya joust, Caballero is certain the Filipino takraw players will deliver against the ‘best of the best in Asia.’
“They are ready. They have extensively prepared for this, and I’m confident naman sa preparations ng ating coaching team,” said the PSTAI chief in the Forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, and the country’s 24/7 sports app ArenaPlus.
“It’s the same challenge presented to them by the NSA during the Kings’ Cup. They come home with no medal, no one’s going to the Asian Games. Simply because if you can’t beat anybody in the World Cup, wala rin kayong tatalunin sa Asiad. We are not going to be tourists when we go to Japan. So we mean business.”
Towering Jom Lerry Rafael, part of the team that won the silver in the World Cup and bronze in Hangzhou, will again spearhead the country’s campaign together with Jason Huerte, Reynaldo Asilum, Ronsited Gabayeron, and Glindel Phori, along with Mary Ann Lopez, Kristine Lapsit, Rachelle Palomar, Nieva Jane Salon, Heart Makiling Rhea Mae Dela Cruz, to name a few.
The men’s regu has been grouped with powerhouse teams Thailand and host Japan, while the women’s quadrant is with Vietnam, Thailand, and India.
“So bugbugan na tayo kaagad,” said Caballero. (PSA pool story)
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