Momentum on RP side in Doha

(Editors note: The following is the first of a series of articles on the Philippines campaign in the 15th Asian Games scheduled December 1-15 in Doha, Qatar)

For the Philippines, there couldn’t be a more fitting way to gear up for the coming 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, than capturing the overall championship of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games last year.

It was an unprecedented feat as the host country topped the biennial 11-nation competition for the first time since joining the conclave in 1977. The Philippines clearly dominated the 23rd staging of the SEA Games, bagging 113 gold medals, 84 silver and 94 bronze to easily outdistance runner-up Thailand’s haul of 87, 78 and 118.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose Cojuangco Jr. lauded the athletes who brought honor to the flag and said their hard work finally paid off after decades of frustration.

"To our athletes, I extend my sincere and heartfelt congratulations because without their sacrifice, the country wouldn’t have won the championship," said Cojuangco.

Now, the challenge is to overcome tougher odds at the Asian Games and the toughest odds of all at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Our athletes showed how the country can be united," said Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William Ramirez after the SEA Games triumph. "Our people were one in rallying behind our athletes. I hope we continue this kind of cooperation, for the good of the country, not only in the SEA Games but in the bigger Asian and Olympic Games."

The next stop is Doha and the Philippines is determined to surpass its modest harvest of three gold, seven silver and 16 bronze medals at the 14th Asiad in Busan four years ago. Momentum is on the Filipinos’ side. Whether that can be transformed into a winning formula or not remains to be seen but for sure, the contingent of 229 athletes competing in 31 of 39 sports will fight to the end.

Ramirez, the Asiad chef de mission, has boldly predicted a haul of at least five gold medals. He singled out boxing, wushu, taekwondo, billiards, bowling, karate, equestrian, diving and tennis as sports with a high probability of hitting paydirt.

There are 39 sports listed in the Doha calendar with 423 gold medals at stake. The Philippines is vying for honors in all the sports except basketball, football, handball, hockey, kabaddi, rugby, softball and trampoline.

In Busan, the Philippines sent a delegation of 218 athletes — 40 less than in Bangkok in 1998 — and came away with 26 medals. The largest Filipino contingent ever in the Asian Games — 258 in Bangkok — produced only 18 medals, including a lone gold.

Since the Asian Games began in 1951, the Philippines has collected a total of 332 medals, broken down into 56 gold, 99 silver and 177 bronze to rank No. 9 in the honor roll behind China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, India, Thailand, Kazakhstan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in that order.

China made its Asiad debut in 1974 after sitting out the first six meets and has ruled the roost since dislodging Japan from the top of the heap in 1982. China has amassed a total of 1,900 medals (840 gold, 612 silver and 448 bronze) in eight Asian Games compared to the Philippines’ 332 in 14 stagings. China, Japan and South Korea are the only Asian countries with at least 1,000 medals in their possession.

Close to 3,000 medals will be up for grabs in Doha where records are expected to be set in terms of most number of sports, athletes and participating nations. The coming Games will schedule 39 sports (one more than the record registered in Busan), congregate 45 countries (one more than the record posted in Busan) and assemble over 10,000 athletes (way over the record of 6,828 posted in Hiroshima in 1994).

A shortage of beds for delegates looms as a major problem in accommodating visitors in the $500 Million Athletes Village but organizers are confident of providing adequate facilities when the Games finally get off the ground.

The Philippines is participating in baseball, rowing, table tennis, badminton, aquatics, beach volleyball, boxing, chess, gymnastics, judo, sepak takraw, shooting, soft tennis, weightlifting, bowling, cycling, cue sports, tennis, sailing, taekwondo, triathlon, bodybuilding, golf, wrestling, archery, fencing, canoe-kayak, equestrian, squash, wushu and karate.