POC dumps dragonboat teams

MANILA, Philippines - It’s official: the RP men’s and women’s dragonboat teams are out of the coming Asian Games.

The Philippine Olympic Committee executive board yesterday announced its decision to drop the RP paddlers from the roster four days after the results of their performance trials were questioned by the POC monitoring team

Monico Puentevella, the POC chairman, said the executive board “had serious concerns over the procedures and references used in the time trial” held at the La Mesa Dam in Quezon City.

The RP paddlers only needed to match the bronze medal standard in the 100m and 200m races of the 2008 Asian Championships in Penang, Malaysia, to make it to the RP team to the Guangzhou Asiad.

But they overdid themselves, surpassing even the winning times of China and Indonesia in the two events in 2008. The RP paddlers were also questioned for the way they staged their trials in the 1000m event.

Jose Romasanta, RP team chef-de-mission, said it’s official that the RP dragonboat teams are out of the lineup because there’s no more time for them to file an appeal before the POC executive board.

Nestor Ilagan, head coach of the RP dragon boat teams, said it’s such a pity that his team members worked so hard in trying to meet the POC standard only to be turned down at the very last minute.

“It’s very sad especially to the athletes,” said Ilagan, who added that he has yet to get a copy of the POC decision.

“I will have to talk to them once we get the papers from the POC,” he added.

With the dragonboat teams out, tbe number of RP athletes going to Guangzhou is now down to 196 with possible late inclusions of a handful athletes chess, taekwondo and shooting.

The Philippines fielded 233 athletes in the 2006 Doha Asian Games and brought home four gold, six silver and nine bronze medals.