By GERRY CARPIO
The Philippine Star
BEIJING — The 15-member Philippine delegation starts its quest for the elusive gold medal with an archer and a shooter taking their respective stands in different venues as the competitions of the 2008 summer Olympics start Saturday.
A lavish opening ceremony followed by the parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic torch at the Bird’s Nest National Stadium in Beijing ushered in the 29th Olympics.
The Philippine contingent came out in the pomp and pageantry with boxing champion Manny Pacquiao bearing the national flag.
Philippine chef de mission Monico Puentevella said that President Arroyo, who joined world leaders in witnessing the opening ceremonies Friday, had extended her China visit for another day to watch the first day of action in shooting and archery where Eric Ang and Mark Javier will be having their baptism of fire.
The Chief Executive and several government officials will be at the venue to give the athletes the much-needed support as they attempt to do what over 350 other Filipinos failed to accomplish since the Philippines made its Olympic debut in 1924.
Wearing the national colors in Beijing are Henry Dagmil and Marestella Torres of athletics, Mark Javier of archery, Harry Tañamor of boxing, Sheila Mae Perez and Ryan Rexel Fabriga of diving, Eric Ang of shooting, Tshomlee Go and Toni Rivero of taekwondo, Hidiyln Diaz of weightlifting and Miguel Molina, Ryan Paolo Arabejo, Daniel Zane Coakley, James Walsh and Joan Christel Simms of swimming.
To be sure, the road to glory will be rough and thorny.
The country is pinning its hope in boxing and taekwondo where Tañamor, Go and Rivero will be facing tough competition.
The Philippines could ticket only Tañamor after three qualifying competitions, leaving even hot prospects Joan Tipon, Violito Payla and Genebert Basadre out of the picture. Filipino candidates were wiped out in two Asian Olympic qualifiers in Bangkok last January and in Astana, Kazakhstan, last March.
Taekwondo allows each country to qualify two male and two female entries but the Philippines could only book Go and Rivero.
But both disciplines are “subjective” sports, where winners are chosen on the basis of judgment not measurable standards.
Diving is another sport where judgment will separate the winners from the losers.
And in sports where there are measurable standards, Filipino athletes will be hard-pressed to upstage world record holders.
Still, there is hope for the gold. A rich bounty and a prominent place in history books await the country’s first Filipino Olympic gold medalist. No doubt, the 15 athletes will be motivated to excel beyond their limits. They will do their best and will make every Filipino proud, win or lose.
The heat is on
The Philippine team opens its gold medal quest at 3:30 p.m. Saturday with Eric Ang competing in the qualifying rounds of the men’s trap shooting at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall.
Another long shot, Mark Javier, will try his luck in archery at the Olympic Green Archery Field. Only four medals are at stake in this event and Javier will be facing tough opposition from different countries, most notably the United States, Italy and Korea.
Ang, 37, is the senior statesman in the delegation. The trap specialist won silver medals in the last three SEA Games and will try to upset the odds in Beijing.
Javier, 27, topped the 32-strong Asian continental archery competitions in Xian, China, to gain his ticket to the Olympics. National archery coach Jennifer Chan said Javier is capable of pulling a surprise in Beijing over fancied opponents.
“We’re ready to go,” said an upbeat Puentevella, who is confident Ang and Javier would move beyond the elimination round in their events.
Archery became an official Olympic event in 1900. It was featured again in 1904, 1908 and 1920, then dropped from competition due to lack of organization and interest. It resurfaced as an Olympic event in 1972, and has undergone numerous rule changes since 1984.
A team competition was added to the medal program in Seoul in 1988, with host nation South Korea claiming both the men’s and women’s gold medals.
The host nations dominated at the early Olympics, but since 1972 it has been the USA and South Korea who have proved the most powerful nations, with the Korean women equaling their 1988 clean sweep of titles in 1984.
Korea, so far, had amassed 21 gold medals, followed closely by the USA with 13.
Defying the odds
Philippine Sports Commission chairman William (Butch) Ramirez said despite the odds, he is optimistic the country will end its 12-year Olympic medal drought.
“It’s difficult but possible to win gold in Beijing,” said Ramirez. “I realize the chances are extremely scant. But I have high hopes. With our two new Cuban coaches settled in, we might see Tañamor winning the gold. Who knows? I also think Tshomlee and Toni have very good chances in taekwondo. We’ll carefully monitor the progress of those three athletes who are our best bets for a medal.”
Tañamor, 29, faces an uphill climb because he’s in the same lightflyweight division as China favorite and two-time world champion Zou Shiming.
“If we can avoid fighting Zou in the early elimination rounds, our chances for a medal are better,” said Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines president Manny Lopez. “In the last world championships, they didn’t meet until the finals. But one way or the other, Harry is prepared. If he has to face Zou early, so be it. In 2004, Great Britain had only one boxing qualifier Amir Khan and he was good for a silver. I’m confident Harry will deliver for the country.”
National boxing coach Pat Gaspi said Tañamor’s recent training in Cuba has sharpened his skills and boosted his confidence for Beijing.
He didn’t go far in his Olympic debut four years ago. He outpointed Tajikistan’s Sherali Dostiev in his first bout then lost a 42-25 decision to Korea’s Hong Moo Won to exit in the second preliminaries.
Go, 27, and Rivero, 20, competed in the Athens Olympics like Tañamor. They will lean on their Olympic experience to keep a sharp focus on the road to glory.
“Both Tshom and Toni are Olympic veterans so they know what to expect,” said national taekwondo coach Roberto Cruz. “Our players treat every fight like it’s the finals. Without putting pressure on them, we’re hoping to get our first Olympic medal in taekwondo in Beijing.”
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Stephen Fernandez and Bea Lucero claimed a bronze each when taekwondo was a demonstration sport. Since taekwondo was included in the regular Olympic calendar in 2000, no Filipino in any sport has bagged a medal.
In Beijing, there are no Chinese and Korean competitors in Go’s -58 kilogram flyweight class. The favorite in Go’s division is 2004 Olympic champion Chu Mu Yen of Chinese Taipei.
In Rivero’s 58-68 kilogram welterweight class, no Chinese is competing but Korea will be represented.
Unlike in Sydney and Athens, two bronze medals will be awarded in taekwondo.
Hope springs eternal
“The competition is a little wide open because of the extra bronze medal,” said Cruz. “In the past, there was a fight for the bronze. Now, all those who lost to the two finalists in each division will face off and the last two will win a bronze each. It’s not like in boxing where a loss will mean you’re out. In Beijing, you lose to a finalist and still get a chance for a bronze.”
Rivero is on a hot streak. She won the silver in both the Asian Olympic qualifiers and the recent Asian championships.
Cruz said if good things come in threes, Rivero will be in line for an Olympic medal.
The other repeat Olympians in the Beijing cast are Molina, Walsh and Perez.
Molina, 24, won four gold medals in last year’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. He competed in four events in Athens, finishing 42nd of 59 in the 200-meter freestyle, 38th of 46 in the 200-meter breaststroke, 33rd of 48 in the 200-meter individual medley and 34th of 36 in the 400-meter individual medley.
In Beijing, Molina will swim in the 200-meter individual medley, 200-meter breaststroke and 200-meter freestyle.
Philippine Amateur Swimming Association president Mark Joseph said Molina is now more prepared for the Olympics than in Athens.
“He has the best chances because of his level of maturity,” said Joseph. “He’s been dominating Southeast Asian swimmers and we hope he can get close to swimmers from Japan and China.”
Walsh, 22, took 37th place of 39 in the 200-meter butterfly in Athens and hopes to outdo himself in the same event in Beijing.
At the SEA Games last year, he set a new Philippine record with a clocking of 2:00.84 in the 200-meter butterfly.
Walsh recently improved his mark to 2:00.42 during the US Senior International Championships in Indianapolis.
Perez, 23, was 32nd of 43 divers in the three-meter springboard event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics with 223.65 points. She skipped the Athens joust but is back with a vengeance. Perez gained a slot in Beijing after ranking 17th among 100 participants at the last diving World Cup.
The other diver Fabriga, 23, earned his ticket to Beijing after finishing fourth among 34 contenders in the Olympic qualifiers. He won a pair of gold medals in the individual 10-meter platform and synchronized 10-meter platform events at the 2003 SEA Games in Vietnam and added a gold and silver at the 2005 SEA Games in Manila.
Molina said the future of Philippine swimming lies in Coakley, a 19-year-old Hawaii-born Fil-Am who is competing in the 50-meter freestyle event. Coakley, whose mother is Filipina, is the grandnephew of Teofilo Yldefonso who bagged bronze medals for the country in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 1928 and 1932 Olympics. He set a new SEA Games record in his event with a time of 22.8 seconds in Thailand last December.
“Daniel has the genes and watching him swim, I am so amazed at how naturally talented he is,” said Molina. “He is truly just raw talent like so many other Filipino swimmers who can improve so much if their talent is honed, fine-tuned and perfected through good coaching.”
Molina also paid tribute to Arabejo, a 19-year-old prospect entered in the 1,500-meter freestyle.
“Ryan is a rising star,” said Molina. “He’s young and has a wide open future. He can do anything he puts his mind to. As a distance swimmer, you know he’s really tough and can handle almost anything. Philippine swimming is in good hands in the near future.”
Then there is Simms who will vie for honors in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle. Only 17, she’ll be up against the likes of Olympic record holder Natalie Coughlin and five-time Olympian Dara Torres, both Americans.
Dagmil, 27, and Torres, 27, failed to qualify outright for Beijing but were sent by Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association president Go Teng Kok as the country’s mandatory representatives in athletics. Both are long jumpers who were among the top six finishers in their categories at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha and took gold medals in the last two SEA Games.
Diaz, 17, is the youngest athlete in the national roster. The 4’ 11” Zamboanga City discovery won a bronze medal in the women’s 58-kilogram class at the last SEA Games and was given a wildcard ticket to Beijing through the efforts of Weightlifting Federation of the Philippines president Rep. Monico Puentevella.
Diaz’s goal is to surpass her personal record and gain experience for future international competitions. Her dream is to win a medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
The Philippines has not competed in Olympic weightlifting since Samuel Alegada (56 kilograms), Gregorio Colonia (52 kilograms) and Ramon Solis (90 kilograms) participated in Seoul in 1988. Diaz will be the first Filipina weightlifter in Olympic history.
In Athens, two Southeast Asian countries garnered medals in women’s weightlifting. Thailand bagged golds in the 53-kilogram class (Udomporn Polsak) and 75-kilogram division (Pawina Thongsuk). Indonesia claimed the silver in the 53-kilogram category (Risa Rumbewas).
Diaz hopes to follow in their footsteps.
Ramirez said even as the Beijing Olympics beckon, he urged national sports associations to start identifying talent for the London Games four years from now.
“Preparing to win an Olympic medal is not a short-term thing,” he said. “From our point of view, it requires a paradigm shift. In boxing, we’ve gotten Cuban coaches to train our fighters but we must identify a pool of young talent for the future. Identifying talent is the key then we can work on our prospects with expert coaching. It’s useless to get expert coaching if we don’t have the talent to begin with.”—With Quinito Henson, Xinhua