PSC wants early training for Asiad

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia said national athletes must be identified early and trained immediately to give the country medal chances in the 17th Asian Games slated Sept. 19-Oct. 4 next year in Incheon, South Korea.

“We need to identify athletes that are Asian Games-qualified and train them for Incheon,” Garcia, Asiad chef de mission, told The STAR yesterday.

“We want to identify our Asian Games athletes early, so  it will give us more time to train them and put them in competitive shape,” he added.

Garcia though said the country’s sports-funding agency will need the help of the national sports associations.

“This is the responsibility of the NSAs because we can’t train athletes without their support and approval,” he said.

Garcia’s plan came on the heels of the debacle suffered in the just-concluded 27th Southeast Asian Games in Nay Pyi Daw, Myanmar where the Phl finished seventh on a 29-34-38 (gold-silver-bronze) haul, its worst ever performance in the biennial meet.