Pinoys hope for fiery start in AY Games

NANJING – It’s not just the quality of the opposition that will give Filipino athletes a tough time in the second Asian Youth Games which officially unfolds today.

The weather in this ancient and historic capital of Jiangsu province will also play a role for the 54 athletes hoping to win a medal for Team Philippines.

It’s summertime in China and here in Nanjing the mercury is rising. Forecast for this week and the days ahead shows a normal high of 38-39 degrees.

Two days ago the temperature peaked at 42 degrees. The Filipinos will have to deal with this, especially those in outdoor events like athletics, golf, rugby and shooting.

“Filipinos are used to the hot weather but not as hot as this,” said Philippine chef-de-mission Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla, a five-time SEA Games gold medalist in shooting. 

But it’s not an excuse and Padilla is confident that the Philippines will bring home the medals.

The Filipinos will vie in athletics, badminton, basketball (3-on-3), fencing, golf, judo, rugby, shooting, swimming, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo and weightlifting with no entries in handball, football and squash.

Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia and Philippine Olympic Committee vice president Jose Romasanta are hoping that the hot weather will not give the Filipinos a cold start.

The AYG, which held its inaugural staging in 2009 in Singapore, is a gathering of the region’s most promising athletes aged 14 to 17 years.

The competition is going to be tough because medalists in the 118 events on tap will qualify to the 2014 Youth Olympics which Nanjing will also host.

In certain events like swimming, medalists in the 2009 AYG went on to bag medals in the 2012 London Olympics.

Among Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines ranks sixth in the number of competing athletes. Thailand has 184, Indonesia and Vietnam with 105 each, Singapore with 86 and Malaysia with 68. Interestingly, the Philippines placed sixth overall in the 2011 SEA Games.

China has the biggest delegation of 255 athletes while Kazakhstan has 147 and South Korea with 127. The Chinese ruled the 2009 AYG with 25 gold, 16 silver and 11 bronze medals followed by the South Koreans (20-17-17), the Thais (11-7-2) and the Singaporeans (9-6-15).

The Philippines brought home one silver and a bronze in 2009 courtesy of Stephanie Cimato in girls’ javelin and Colins Jose in bowling’s masters event.

Organizers have prepared a “frugal” opening ceremony for the event that runs until Aug. 24. Instead of using a 62,000 Olympic Stadium, the opening and closing will take place in a city gymnasium.

Only 11 of the Filipino athletes and a very limited number of officials will be able to join the opening ceremony starting at 5 p.m..