Dayrit: Lean, mean RP team bound for Athens

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Celso Dayrit sees a smaller Philippine delegation to the Athens Olympics later this year.

Rest assured though, that it will be one proud and fighting Filipino side which gets to compete with the world’s best.

"We’ll be sending a compact team to the Olympics, perhaps much smaller than the one we had in Sydney," admitted Dayrit in the PSA Forum yesterday at the Manila Pavilion.

"But our athletes we’ll be there fighting."

Shooter Jethro Dionisio was the latest addition to the country’s Olympic bets after being given a wild card entry in the trap events by the International Shooting Federation (ISF).

"We’re happy to have him joining the team in Athens.

He’s such a young and talented athlete," said Dayrit of Dionisio, a medalists in the last Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam and Busan Asian Games in 2002.

That brought to 12 the number of Filipino representatives to the Athens Games set Aug. 18-29, counting earlier qualifiers in boxing (3), taekwondo (3), track and field (2), swimming (2) and archery (1).

Eighteen athletes comprised Team Philippines in the Sydney Games four years ago, when the Filipinos went home medal-less for the first time in 12 years.

There could have been more Olympic representatives for the country this year had pistol shooter Tac Padilla been able to compete in an Olympic qualifying meet in Malaysia two months ago and the Filipino fencers managed to survive the tough Asian Fencing Championships held at the Philsports Arena recently.

A death in the family prevented Padilla from seeing action in the Malaysian meet while all the fencers could do was to reach the final eight of the event featuring the best players in the Asian region.

"We did our best but maybe, ours is not good enough yet in the Asian level. But we fared better than in the past," said Dayrit, also the country’s fencing chief, of the Filipino fencers’ stint in the weeklong-meet.

But the POC chief also expressed in the same forum sponsored by Agfa Colors, Red Bull and PAGCOR that a few more will likely be added to Team Philippines as qualifying tournaments in boxing, judo and canoeing are still to be held.

Likewise, Dayrit clarified swimmer Carlo Piccio has yet to earn a slot in the Philippine team although the SEA Games gold medallist can still make it should he managed to improve his time in another Olympic qualifying tournament scheduled two months from now.