Filipina golfers left in the shadows at Paris Olympics
MANILA, Philippines -- They didn’t come to the Paris Olympics merely to represent Team Philippines – they came to fight for their flag and their country. But for Dottie Ardina, it felt like she and fellow golfer Bianca Pagdanganan were the only ones truly in the fight.
In a video posted before the third round of the women’s golf competition at Le Golf National on Friday, Ardina vented her frustrations over the lack of uniforms and the apparent indifference of those responsible.
“What kind of Olympics is this?” Ardina quipped in Filipino, half-joking, as she painstakingly attached the Philippine logo to her shirt. “My God, a shoutout to those who didn’t bother to provide us with uniforms. Where are they? Where did they go? There are only two of us here, and even then, we're incomplete!”
2 atleta natin sa Paris olympics pinay golfers na sina Bianca Pagdanganan at Dottie Ardina.. nagmukhang kaawa-awa dahil sila lang ang walang maayos na uniform.. nasaan ang pondo sa atleta? panoorin si Dottie sa kanyang karanasan??????? pic.twitter.com/kyhd8YYAIZ
— Ely Saludar (@media_ely) August 9, 2024
While Philippine sports officials seized the opportunity to be photographed with history-making, two-gold medalist gymnast Carlos Yulo even after his events, they seemingly forgot about the country’s top golfers – athletes who had worked for years, mostly on their own and with private support, to qualify for these Games.
Ardina must have waited two days, hoping against hope that the essentials they needed would arrive, even if only halfway through the competition.
They never did.
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In deep disappointment, she let out her frustrations in a video where she was seen using double-sided tape to ensure the Philippine flag would stay on her shirt.
“Let’s stick this on with double-sided tape…what fun,” she said sarcastically as she demonstrated the process.
“Every day is another day. Let’s double the tape, just in case…We can’t risk it, can we? I wish everyone had uniforms – except us,” she added.
“We even had to buy adhesive. My God. Isn’t it embarrassing? With so many people around, we’re the only ones without uniforms,” Ardina lamented.
She also showed photos of her golf clubs, their heads wrapped in duct tape to cover the sponsors, another humiliating workaround, as sponsorship displays are prohibited in the Olympics.
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