Boxing exec slams Chowdry for RP debacle

He saw it all, heard it all, told it all.

Ruben Roque, team manager of the RP boxing team to the Vietnam SEA Games, did all that the other day when he talked about the sad, painful and unbearable experience the Filipinos suffered on the final day of the boxing competitions in Ho Chi Minh City.

Roque had just arrived from the southern Vietnamese city with the rest of the team when he called The STAR Thursday afternoon. At first he sounded like his old self, cheerful and jolly, but as the conversation went on, he was furious and all steamed up.

From the other end of the line, I knew he was mad.

"It’s unbelievable what they did to us. It’s crazy," he blurted, shifting from English to Filipino.

Roque, of course, was referring to the results of the boxing finals where the Filipinos went 1-of-6 with flyweight Harry Tañamor coming out as the lone gold medalist after a 32-19 demolition of Indon Rionando Butar.

The rest, all five of them, lost to Thai opponents. Roque didn’t say that all of them were cheated, but for at least two of them, it was the poor, biased officiating that spelled the difference.

After some more words, Roque went straight to the point.

"Pera-pera ang labanan dito (It’s all about money)," he said of the International Amateur Boxing Association, which has long been under Prof. Anwar Chowdry of Pakistan.

"If you don’t have the money, well... talagang maliit ang chance mo," he added. "Grabe na ang nangyayari sa amateur boxing. Kung sino ang may pera, siya ang mananalo ng malaki. Puro pera, pera, pera."

Roque, the treasurer of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines, said Chowdry even scolded ABAP president Manny Lopez after the debris-throwing incident last Wednesday at the Phan Dinh Pung Stadium where irate fans, including Vietnamese, protested the outcome of the matches involving Filipinos.

"Chowdry accused Manny Lopez of instigating the throwing of plastic water bottles and different debris into the ring. But how can Manny Lopez do that? He didn’t even know these Vietnamese," said Roque.

"Tayo na nga ang na-agrabyado, tayo pa ang pinagalitan," Roque quoted Lopez, furious as everyone else on the RP camp, as saying.

Roque said Chowdry must have been so embarrassed by the debris-throwing since he was seated beside a high-ranking Thai military officer who flew in and watched the final bouts from the VIP section.

Roque also questioned the fact that a Thai boxing official was allowed to sit near the judges computer, so near that he could see the running score and send signals to their corner. Lopez, who is the AIBA secretary-general for Asia, wasn’t given the same courtesy.

"Senyas ng senyas yung Thai dahil katabi lang niya ang computer (This Thai kept on sending hand signals)," said Roque of the Thais. "Si Manny hindi nila pinalapit sa computer."

Roque added that Chowdry, on his way to Ho Chi Minh (formery Saigon), even made a brief visit to Thailand.

"Bakit kaya siya dumaan pa sa Thailand? And I heard that on his way back to Pakistan, dadaan ulit sa Thailand. For what? Baka may naiwan?" said Roque.

Thailand emerged the overall champion with seven of the nine gold medals disputed.

Even before the throwing started, most of the Filipino fans had angrily left the stadium after a third straight loss by a Filipino boxer to his Thai opponent.

"Nag walk-out na sila. They didn’t even bother to watch our last two matches. They knew what was happening and they said they just couldn’t take it anymore," said Roque.

The members of the Filipino crowd were right after all. The last two RP fighters lost.

Chowdry, Roque added, even threatened Lopez that the Philippines could be stripped of the right to host the first of three Asian qualifying tournaments for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The tournament, which is expected to draw entries from at least 30 Asian countries, is set in January in Palawan. The two other qualifiers will be held in China and, of course, Pakistan, Chowdry’s homeland.

"Sobra talaga itong si Chowdry," said the RP team manager.

This threat, he added, might force Lopez to elevate the case to the International Olympic Committee where the Philippines can file a formal protest against the Pakistani official.

"We are contemplating on that," said Lopez, who has talked to Buddy Andrada, head of the Asian tennis federation, and Steve Hontiveros, head of the FIQ (the world governing body in bowling), regarding the filing of the protest.

Lopez also plans to talk to Florencio Campomanes, honorary president of FIDE (the world chess body), to seek some advice.

"Wala na eh. Kahit ensayo ng ensayo ang mga bata, kung ganito naman ang patakbo. Puro pera," added Roque.

"Pero anong magagawa natin? Mani lang ang maibibigay natin samantalang yung kabila steak. Di ano ang kakainin ni...? (What can we do? We can only offer them peanuts when the other side is offering them steak)," Lopez had said before.

Then going to the IOC could be the best option there is.