Table tennis, volley give up Busan bid

Local officials of table tennis and volleyball have informed the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) that they will no longer field a team in this year’s Asian Games in Busan, South Korea to concentrate instead on the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Vietman.

Triathlon’s Tom Carrasco, chief of mission of the RP delegation to the quadrennial meet scheduled this September, said officials of table tennis and volleyball made the announcement during a recent meeting presided over by the Asian Games Task Force.

"Both table tennis and volleyball informed the task force that they would instead concentrate on the 2003 SEA Games preparation in Vietnam," said Carrasco, who also announced the same move made by the Philippine Football Federation last week.

The three national sports associations made the decision since they have slim chances of landing in the medal standings.

Meanwhile, the POC has expanded its involvement in the preparation and training of athletes bound for the Asian Games set Sept. 29 to Oct. 14 in a bid to enhance the country’s medal chances.

Under a recent board resolution, Filipino athletes who have strong chances of winning may submit to the POC their own recommendations for subsidy to any acceptable international competition.

POC president Celso Dayrit said that all requests, however, are subject to the approval of the POC executive board.

The POC-funded program had given assistance to nine athletes from six Olympic events under the International Olympic Solidarity Program. These are Purita Joy Marino (archery), John Baylon (judo), Rasheya Jasmin Luis (shooting), Eduardo Buenavista, John Lozada and Cristabel Martes (athletics), Walbert Mendoza (fencing), and the pair of Roberto Cruz and Veronica Domingo (taekwondo).