Garcia hails Chinese sports program

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia was impressed by what he saw during a recent meeting with his counterparts in Beijing.

“We saw their facilities, their training centers in their universities and high schools. And it’s funny that after seeing them I felt sad,” said Garcia.

The PSC chief said the visit served as a reality check that the Philippines is lagging miles and miles behind when it comes to sports development.

“I felt sad seeing the things that we know our money can’t buy. They are very expensive,” Garcia told yesterday’s sports radio program over DZSR.

Garcia said that while the PSC is looking at physical and weight fitness of its athletes, the Chinese are into analyzing blood samples of their athletes.

“They’re too deep into it. They’re very advanced. It’s like they’re studying the specimen of their athletes and we’re only looking into the physical aspect.

“That’s why they’re considered the king of sports now. Their facilities are far too much ahead of ours. Mga hindi natin kaya bilhin,” he added.

But there’s a bright side to the visit, according to Garcia.

The PSC succeeded in developing a fresh agreement with the Chinese Sports Ministry regarding the training of the Filipino athletes under its priority list.

From a pool of more than 800 athletes, the PSC identified close to 200 as priority athletes, those that will be given full attention than the others.

“Again, we were able to convince them about sending our athletes to China for extensive training of even up to a year. That is the bright side,” Garcia said.

But instead of Beijing, the Filipino athletes as well as their respective coaches will be sent to the provinces where the facilities are as advanced.  

“It’s more expensive in Beijing, from the food to the housing. So, we do it in the provinces. Our athletes will be analyzed, and hopefully they will be able to compete and give us a better chance in the next SEA Games or Asian Games,” Garcia added.

The PSC said it’s willing to spend as much as $700 a month for each athlete, and this will not be deducted to their monthly allowances ranging from P20,000 to P40,000.

“This is the cheaper way rather than dream of having all those equipment or structure here because for us to do that it will run in the billions. At this cost, we will not go wrong,” Garcia added.