Doha Asiad gold medalists out of Guangzhou roster

MANILA, Philippines - Not one among the four Filipino athletes who won gold medals in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha will be back for this year’s edition of the quadrennial event.

Boxers Violito Payla and Joan Tipon, cue artist Antonio Gabica and wushu star Rene Catalan will not be around when the Philippines tries to surpass its performance four years ago.

Their names were not among the 249 that were submitted by the Philippine Olympic Committee to Guangzhou organizers the other day, just in time for yesterday’s deadline.

This year’s Asiad is scheduled Nov. 12-27 in Guangzhou, China, and RP sports officials are optimistic that the country will improve on its haul of four gold, six silver and nine bronze medals the last time out.

But the country will have to do it without the stars of 2006.

In fact, only three of the six silver medalists will be back for the Guangzhou edition. They are Maria Marna Pabillore of karatedo, Tsomlee Go of taekwondo and Eduard Folayang of wushu.

Other silver medalists in 2006 who will be missed this year are Jeffrey de Luna and Gabica of billiards, and Mary Antoinette Rivero of taekwondo, who recently suffered an ACL injury while preparing for the Asian Games.

Gabica has opted to drop out of the national team and take a high-paying job as a billiards instructor in the Middle East.

Of the nine bronze medalists in Doha, only three will compete in Guangzhou. They are Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino of tennis, and Noel Espinosa of karate. The other RP bronze medalists in Doha are Godfrey Castro and Genebert Basadre of boxing, Michael Bibat of golf, and Veronica Domingo, Kathleen Eunice Alore and Manuel Rivero Jr. of taekwondo,

Still, RP team chef-de-mission Jose Romasanta is confident that the country will do better than four years ago.

“We are looking at a better performance this year,” he said yesterday as he bared the names of all those who will represent the country in Guangzhou.

The official names were finalized by the POC working committee last Tuesday and were forwarded to Guangzhou the other day by email and through hard copy.

The only change in the lineup may occur if the RP dragon boat teams (22 men and 22 women) fail to meet the criteria during their final time trial on Oct. 9 at the La Mesa Dam, and if the women’s basketball team (12 players) fail to win the gold in the SEABA Championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Oct. 24-29. 

The names that were submitted to Guangzhou included those from softball (15), billiards and snooker (14) , aquatics (13), dancesport (12), bowling (12), men’s basketball (12), taekwondo (12), chess (12), soft tennis (10), athletics (8), golf (7), wushu (7), judo (6), boxing (6), cycling (6), wrestling (4), lawn tennis (4), karate (4), equestrian (3), rowing (3), sailing (3), sepak takraw (3), shooting (3), weightlifting (2), triathlon (2), archery (2), canoe-kayak (2), fencing (2), gymnastics (2) and squash (2).