Asiad no more free for all in 2026 edition, beyond

MANILA, Philippines — After this year’s Hangzhou Asian Games, athletes seeking to see action in the quadrennial event would have to meet specific standards or advance through the qualifying process.

“In the Hangzhou Asian Games, lahat pwede makalaro, wala pang qualifiers,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino during yesterday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the East Ocean Palace in Parañaque.

“Next Asian Games, me qualifying na, mahigpit na at hindi na free for all, which is the right move,” he added referring to the 2026 Asiad in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

The mayor from Tagaytay said the Olympic Council of Asia recently made the decision of implementing a qualifying system to limit participants.

Tolentino stressed he isn’t worried by the recent move.

As this developed, he is optimistic the country could still eclipse, if not match, its four-gold, two-silver and 15-bronze harvest in the last Asiad edition in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia seven years ago.

“Mabigat pero may inaasahan naman tayo doon,” he said.

Tolentino has also sounded the alarm less than four months before Cambodia hosts the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.

“Frankly, kinakabahan ako because of the formula na ginawa ng host country,” said Tolentino.

“Medyo mabigat ang ginawa,” Tolentino added, referring to Cambodia’s decision to include events that are practically alien to the other countries and exclude events where Cambodians have slim chances of winning.

For a country of less than 17 million people, Cambodia has lined up 608 events in 49 sports, far bigger than the 530 events in 56 sports in the Manila edition in 2019 and the 526 events in 40 sports in Hanoi last year.

But it doesn’t mean that the Philippines, this early, is giving up the fight for the biennial event scheduled May 5 to 17.

“Salihan natin lahat ng events,” said Tolentino.