Wrestlers could pull off surprise in Doha

Wrestling, one of the best performing NSAs (national sports associations) in the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games, could pull off a surprise or two in the 15th Doha Asian Games slated Dec. 5-15.

Vincent Piccio III, who heads the Wrestling Association of the Philippines, yesterday said he did not want to make any forecast on the gold medal prospects of his wards but maintained that his team has a strong chance of snaring a medal or two in the tough quadrennial meet.

"I don’t want to speculate, it’s tough," said Piccio. "But I saw the conduct of their training, so we’ll try our best to get a medal or two in Doha."

SEAG gold medalist Marcus Valda is currently training in Mongolia along with fellow national standouts Jimmy and Jerry Angana, all competing in the freestyle event.

Michael Baletin and Margarito Angana, who are participating in the Greco-roman event, on the other hand, will go to Seoul, South Korea on Nov. 24 to train there.

Gemma Silverio and Ma. Cristina Villanueva, for their part, will be leaving the country on Nov. 15 for Japan.

The international exposure, Piccio explained, is necessary since the toughest wrestlers are going to Doha, including Olympic and Asian Games gold medalist Han Ha-Ling of Korea.

Aside from Korea, the Philippines, which scooped five gold, three silver and two bronze medals in the Manila SEAG, could face tough opposition in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyztan, Pakistan, Japan, Mongolia and China. — Joey Villar