Gabito, Torres kick off Afro-Asian bid

HYDERABAD, India–Some of Asia’s best tracksters may not be around but the depth of the competing field remains as talent-laden as ever as athletics try to shed the mediocre tag in the Afro-Asian Games in the first day of action Tuesday at the GMC Bakayogi Stadium here.

Long jumpers Lerma Bulauitan-Gabito and Marestella Torres kick off the Filipino tracksters’ quest for glory in the centerpiece event that fell short of the expected standards and the projected all-star cast although there is one reigning world champion in women’s 5,000m run, a bronze medalist in the world championship in 10,000m run and a former world sprinting champion and Olympics silver medalist.

The gold and silver medalists in the long jump event in the recent 3As in Manila have opted to skip this meet but Bulauitan, who won the bronze back home last month and the recent Busan Invitationals, and Torres will be up against another entry from the Mainland and four African opponents late Wednesday, hopeful of pulling the rug from under their more fancied rivals.

"Okay naman ang preparasyon namin. Hindi nga lang namin alam ang lakas ng mga kalaban, lalo na yung mga Africans," said the 22-year-old Torres, an education graduate from Far Eastern University and winner of the Vietnam Open two weeks ago with a jump of 6.23m.

Torres, who hails from Dumaguete City, said she’s aiming to break her personal best of 6.40m. Bulauitan leaped 6.50m in the Manila 3As.

National coach Joseph Sy said he’s confident that either of the two would win a medal for the crack seven-man team sent here by Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association president Go Teng Kok, who’s also the chef de mission of the Asian contingent in this event which drew 43 Asian and 54 African nations.

Go said Bulauitan and Torres are in tip-top form, along with the rest of the squad, and should be able to give a good account of themselves in this event serving as part of the team’s buildup for the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in December.

Seeing action Thursday are John Lozada in the 800m and the 4x400m relay team of Ernie Candelario, Rodrigo Tanuan, Jimar Aing and Ronnie Marfil with former track star Isidro del Prado as their coach.

A glance through the entries’ roster on the eve of athletics action listed Tirunesh Dibaba, reigning world champion in women’s 5,000m of Ethiopia, Sileshi Sihine, another Ethiopian and a bronze medalist in the 10,000m in the world championships, and Frankie Fredericks of Namibia, a former world sprinting champion and an Olympics silver medalist who took the 200m silver in the recent All-Africa Games.

But Asia has responded rather disinterestedly to the meet with 14 of the men’s champions in the Busan Asian Games, who accounted for 15 gold medals, not seeing action on top of nine women champions who won 10 golds in Busan.