Asiad medal tally: No sign of Phl yet

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Sports Commission personnel put up the numbers on a billboard showing the medal tally in the ongoing Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea yesterday afternoon.

And from the list of 15 countries that have medals in their pockets, the absence of the Philippines can easily catch the attention of passers-by.

After four days of action in the 17th staging of the Asian Games, the Philippines has yet to break the ice and win a medal – of any color.

The officer-in-charge of the PSC’s day-to-day operations while the Games are on is not pushing the panic button. He said it may be too early to do that.

“Our best bets have yet to see action,” PSC commissioner Buddy Andrada told The STAR over the phone, when asked about his thoughts on the wooden medal tally.

“We still have hopes in wushu, and our athletes in taekwondo, bowling and boxing have not competed yet,” added the former president of the Philippine Lawn Tennis Association.

But what he noticed is that the Philippine rivals in Southeast Asia like Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia already have medals to show in Incheon.

Myanmar has two gold medals under its name (in sepak takraw) while Vietnam and Malaysia have one gold medal each in wushu.

Vietnam also has two silver and four bronze medals to show, Malaysia another silver and Indonesia with four bronze medals.

“Yun nga lang, Myanmar and Vietnam and Malaysia have gold medals,” added Andrada, who remained upbeat of the country’s chances in Incheon.

China, Korea and Japan, as expected, are on top of the standings.

“We have our best bets coming up in the next few days,” Andrada added.

“Dadating din yan, sir (It will come),” said someone working on the medal tally.