Palaro blasts off in Lingayen

Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines  – The Palarong Pambansa goes full blast today with centerpiece track and field firing off with seven gold medals to be staked at the newly refurbished Narciso Ramos Sports Complex in this municipality known as the seat of government of the provincial province.

The first golden winners are expected to emerge from secondary girls javelin, secondary boys long jump, shot put and triple jump, elementary boys triple jump and elementary girls triple jump and shot put as early as the morning of Day One of this weeklong meet for grade and high school students.

Interestingly, the opening ceremony was moved from today to tomorrow to adjust to the busy schedule of President Aquino, who is expected to deliver an inspirational speech right after the traditional parade of colors of all 17 participating regions including a souped up Region One, which included the host delegation from Pangasinan.

Boxing, a sport where the country has the best hope of snaring its first Olympic gold medal, is tipped to draw the biggest crowd as it will be staged at the spacious Lingayen Plaza fronting the Provincial Capitol while athletics, as in past editions, unfurls at 6 a.m. with secondary girls javelin.

Boxing has produced Panabo, Davao del Norte pride Mark Anthony Barriga, a four-time gold medal winner in the Palaro, who is the lone Filipino qualifier in the 2012 London Olympics this July.

Also scheduled at the all-weather oval are heats in secondary and elementary boys 110m hurdles, 100m for secondary and elementary boys and girls and 800m for secondary and elementary boys and girls.

Football, which has gained immense popularity following the recent success of the Azkals, is also expected to attract attention as it will be staged in three different pitches – in the Narciso Ramos Sports Complex, Pangasinan State U and Virgen Milagrosa U Foundation in San Carlos.

Medal-rich swimming, originally set today, has been reset from today to Tuesday in neighboring Dagupan.

Other events lined up are arnis, badminton, baseball, chess, gymnastics, sipa, sepak takraw, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball.

All 17 delegations are accounted for including the National Capital Region, which has dominated this annual event for several years, including the last edition in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte.

This time, however, the Big City bets are expected to have their hands full against the strong challenge expected from traditional Palaro powers Western Visayas and Southern Tagalog.

Over 10,000 athletes, coaches, delegation members and sports officials have converged in this municipality with a population of 95,773 people in 16,467 households and known for its vast agricultural land and fishing farms and hospitality. – With Eva Visperas