EDITORIAL - Aiming for an Olympic gold

Finally, gold medals at the Asian Games. Yesterday the Philippine wushu team added a fourth medal to the one for billiards and the two won by boxer Joan Tipon, giving Filipinos back home cause for rejoicing. An ecstatic Tipon said he had no plans of going pro and was setting his sights on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. This is welcome news for a country that loves sports but is still waiting for its first Olympic gold.

As of Wednesday night the Philippines ranked 17th in the Asian Games. That’s not too bad in a field of 45, but the country can do better. In an athletic competition among Asians, Filipinos are pitted mostly against rivals of similar body build and even from the same gene pool. But our neighbors Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are ahead of us in the 15th Asian Games, with Thailand ranked fifth. Even North Korea was ahead with five gold medals, eight silvers and 13 bronzes as of Wednesday night. What are their athletes doing right?

Surely discipline and rigorous training are key factors. Strong support from their government is also crucial. This is true of the powerhouse team of China, which had bagged 279 medals, 142 of them golds, as of Wednesday night. Compare that with the 17-medal haul of the Philippine team as of Wednesday and, despite Tipon’s victory, Filipinos can’t help feeling let down.

The country has 229 athletes competing in 34 types of sports. As in previous sporting events, Filipinos excel in boxing and billiards. These are activities that require little support from sports officials, and where prize money is often the strongest motivating factor in striving to win. In sports where participants compete mainly for national glory, there seems to be less motivation to observe the type of disciplined training that will develop Olympic-caliber athletes. Tipon may finally break that mold. The nation is cheering him on.