POC appeals Alkhaldi case to int’l court

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Olympic Committee is planning to file an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sports seeking to return the gold medal Jasmine Alkhaldi lost when swimming organizers in last December’s Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar ordered a re-race.

“We will find out how we could do that but definitely we will file an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sports,” said POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. in their general assembly at the Manila Golf in Makati City yesterday.

“This has never happened before that a medal was taken back,” he added.

Alkhaldi, a product of Palarong Pambansa who now studies at University of Hawaii, reigned supreme in the 100-meter freestyle before the technical committee of the SEAG swimming competitions annulled the results and ordered a re-race.

In the re-race, the gold turned bronze when the shaken and unnerved Alkhaldi wound up third behind Thailand’s Junghaying and Singapore’s Quah Ting Wen, who seized the gold and silver, respectively.

With tears in her eyes and heart broken, Alkhaldi showed true sportsmanship and accepted the verdict.

The POC, however, isn’t giving up the fight though.

“We will find legal ways to get that gold back,” said Cojuangco.

Meanwhile, the POC has sought a report from all National Sports Associations to submit a report of their performances in the biennial meet where the country finished a disastrous seventh, the country’s worst ever performance.

This development came after Richie Garcia, Phl Sports Commission chair and chief of mission in the Asian Games slated Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 this year in Incheon, South Korea, said last week that a SEAG gold or a medal in the last Asiad in Guangzhou, China will not be enough to earn a slot to make the team for the quadrennial meet.

“A SEA Games gold or a medal in the last Asian Games isn’t an assurance that you will make the team to Incheon,” said Garcia.

The standard had only qualified a selected few including softball’s Blu Girls that finished fourth in the Asian Championship a year ago, the rugby team that likewise wound up fourth in HSBC’s World Sevens also last year and BMX’s Daniel Caluag, who also made the squad on the strength of being the highest ranked rider in the region.