PH begins long quest for Olympic rugby medal in Tokyo

MANILA, Philippines – With the latest addition of Rugby Sevens in the recently concluded Rio Olympics, the Philippine Rugby Football Union hopes to develop athletes from the grassroots level that can compete in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

The Philippine Volcanoes men's and women's teams were successful in the recent Southeast Asian Games in Singapore, bagging gold and bronze, respectively.

"Rugby Sevens is a game Filipinos can play. It does not require height but speeds," director of Rugby Matt Cullen said Tuesday during the weekly PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

The National Under-19 team will compete against Korea, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates for the Division 1 Asia Rugby Championships, which will be hosted by the Philippines from December 13-17. The winning team will be promoted to the Asian U-19 Premier Division.

The U-19 team is composed of 22 local players chosen from Pampanga, Subic, Cebu, Davao, Albay, Laguna and Metro Manila.

Some of the players came from foundation programs such as Tuloy Don Bosco, Haven for Children, SOS and Bahay Bata.

Cullen said they are working closely with the government to include the sport in the 2017 Palarong Pambansa.

"We can't wait any longer because now it's an Olympic Sport. We hope in the coming years we're not competing for one silver medal, we're competing for three to four gold medals," he said.

Fiji won gold in the men's division in Rio, the country's first Olympic medal. The Philippines, meanwhile, has yet to win a gold medal in the quadrennial sports meet.