Sports leaders throw support to 15th Asian athletic meet

The 15th Asian Athletic Championships to be hosted by the Philippines on September was launched yesterday with no less than International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative Frank Elizalde leading the country’s sports bigwigs in a show of unity and cooperation rarely seen the past few years.

It was jampacked affair at Tiara Hotel’s Sapphire Room in Makati City where athletics chief Go Teng Kok and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Celso Dayrit momentarily set aside their differences to join Elizalde, Philippine Sports Commission commissioners Mike Barredo and Ambrosio de Luna, NCRPO chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco and Manila Sports Council head Ali Atienza in the formal launching of the prestigious event.

"We need unity, we need cooperation and we need a positive image for our country. I’m sure it (Asian Championships) will give us a great image when it is finished," said Elizalde.

Also present to show their support to the endeavor which, aside from luring the best tricksters in Asia, is billed a declaration to the world that "the Philippines is still peaceful and capable of staging a major sports gathering," were several national sports associations, Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association chairman Nicanor Sering, son of Asian Athletics founding president the late Gov. Jose Sering, and other sports and government dignitaries.

"I am deeply moved by the support shown by my colleagues in the POC and our friends from the government and even the military. This early, I predict that the Manila 15th Asian Athletics Championships will be a smashing success," said Go.

For his part, Dayrit said "the POC is proud to endorse this event because this is the biggest event the country will host this year."

Asian Athletic Association (AAA) secretary-general Maurice Nicholas of Singapore was also present and expressed surprise at the huge turnout of sports and government dignitaries.

"With this kind of support, I don’t see any reason why Asia and even the rest of the world would not notice the Philippines," he said.