CHIEF of Mission Richard Gomez has set his target at a rather low level that winning two gold medals in the 18th Asian Games next month is already an accomplishment for Team Philippines.
The Asian Games are set in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2, and expectations for a Philippine gold rush in what is considered as the Olympics of Asia have been set close to ground zero.
“For me, there’s no pressure. We are coming from a single gold [from the previous Asian Games], so anything better than one gold is good,” Gomez told Tuesday’s special Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum last Tuesday at the Philippine Tennis Association Lounge at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
“But I am encouraging the athletes to give their all. They trained hard, and they must have the proper mind-set that they are going to the Asian Games to represent the country,” he added.
A total of 279 athletes will try to break the country’s one gold medal haul in Incheon 2014 courtesy of Daniel Caluag in cycling’s men’s BMX.
Thirty-eight coaches are also flying to Indonesia and are hoping to steer their athletes to surpass the three silver and 11 bronze medals the Philippines also raked in Incheon.
Gomez is pinning his gold medal hopes on combat sports, which, in 2014, produced 10 of the 11 bronze medals—taekwondo (five), boxing (three) and one each from karate and wushu.
“If we also look at our athletes who took part in international tournaments, our martial artists really have a strong chance,” Gomez said. “Jiu jitsu in doing well, also taekwondo and judo.”
Filipino athletes bagged two gold courtesy of jiu jitsu’s Marganita Ochoa and Annie Ramirez, 14 silver and 14 bronze medals in last year’s Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan. Jiu jitsu is on the Asian Games program.
Gomez also has earlier expressed optimism that Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) officials will change their mind and send a team to the Asiad.
The SBP officials announced in a statement last Thursday night that they are foregoing the Asian Games because of time constraints in fielding a strong team and will instead focus on the qualifier for the 2019 World Cup.
Gomez said it’s not yet too late for the SBP to backtrack because the withdrawal has yet to be officially transmitted to the Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (Inasgoc).
Hopefully, Gomez said the SBP led by President Al Panlilio, will still reconsider on its resolve not to send a team.
“They can still send a team because a withdrawal notice has not been officially sent to Inasgoc. The SBP only made a local announcement of the withdrawal,” Gomez told the same forum.
“We’ll never know, maybe in the coming days they [SBP] will change their mind. So let’s wait and see,” he added in the public sports program supported by San Miguel Corp., Tapa King and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
The last-minute decision caught everybody by surprise, including Gomez.
“The Asian Games is as important as the World Cup and is as important as the Southeast Asian Games. Maybe the SEA Games is not a stronger competition than the Asiad. The fact that we have a team, you have to represent basketball in the Asian Games,” Gomez stressed.
Should the SBP decide to have a change of heart, Gomez said the federation has to act quickly as the POC will have no choice but to formally withdraw the basketball entry during the August 9 delegation registration in Jakarta.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes