MANILA, Philippines — Olympic achievers, world beaters and rising sportsmen and sportswomen fly the flag in Paris as Team Philippines seeks to pick up from where it left off in the previous Olympiad in Tokyo.
After ending an agonizing 94-year wait for that elusive Olympic triumph in 2021, the country sends to battle a 22-strong crew out to follow up on Hidilyn Diaz’ celebrated breakthrough and make it the beginning of a golden streak.
The Philippine delegation’s composition was finalized at the end of the qualifying process in basketball, where Gilas Pilipinas bombed out in the semifinal stage of the Qualifiers in Latvia.
The 22-strong cast marks the country’s largest contingent since 1992 in Barcelona, where 26 athletes donned the tri-colors.
Weightlifting titan Diaz, who made history with her conquest of the women’s -55kg division last time, won’t be around for a possible encore after failing to make the grade in the -59kg class tabled for the July 26 to Aug. 11 conclave.
This leaves fellow Tokyo Games podium finishers from boxing, silver-winning Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio and bronze medalist Eumir Marcial, as well as two-time world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo and world No. 2 pole vaulter EJ Obiena with the task of taking the cudgels in France.
Paalam (men’s featherweight), Petecio (women’s featherweight) and Marcial (men’s middleweight) headline a stacked boxing contingent that also includes Olympic debutants Aira Villegas (women’s flyweight) and Hergie Bacyadan (women’s middleweight).
Gymnastics champ Yulo, owner of gold medals in floor exercises and vault on the world stage, and Obiena, one of only few pole vaulters to breach the 6.0-m plateau, look to hit the jackpot in their second Olympic appearances.
Yulo is joined by three female gymnasts in Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo and Levi Ruivivar, all capable of pulling off surprises in the French capital.
Giving Obiena company in the track and field delegation are John Cabang Tolentino and Lauren Hoffman, who qualified in the men’s 110m hurdles and women’s 400m hurdles, respectively.
Sans Diaz, Philippine lifters pin their hopes on Tokyo Olympian Elreen Ando, who beat Diaz for the slot in the women’s -59kg, and first-timers John Fabuar Ceniza (men’s -61kg) and Vanessa Sarno (women’s -71kg).
Two more members of the 2021 Olympic squad are back – golfer Bianca Pagdanganan and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe (women’s -63kg) – even as fencer Samantha Catantan (women’s foil), golfer Dottie Ardina, rower Joannie Delgaco (women’s single sculls), and swimmers Jarod Hutch (men’s 100m butterfly) and Kayla Sanchez (women’s 100m freestyle) will make their debuts.
Fil-Canadian Sanchez previously represented Canada and won silver in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the 4x100m medley relay.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino expressed confidence in surpassing the one-gold, two-silver, one-bronze haul in Tokyo.
“We’re chasing more history. We’re setting the ante higher,” said Tolentino, who has arranged a one-month training camp in Metz, France prior to hostilities.
Meanwhile, Obiena finished fourth in the Meeting de Paris over the weekend.
Reigning Asian champ and one-time world championship silver medalist Obiena vaulted 5.75m in the Diamond League’s Paris leg to finish behind Swedish giant Armand Duplantis, who ruled the star-studded field with 6.0m, and American Sam Kendricks and French bet Thibaut Collet, who took the silver and bronze with a 5.95m and 5.85m, respectively.— Joey Villar