Philippines upbeat on ending long Olympic wrestling absence

MANILA, Philippines — The last Filipino wrestlers who have competed in the Olympics were Dean Carlos Manibog and Florentino Tirante in Seoul, South Korea in 1988. There is a chance the drought could end in Tokyo next year.

Wrestling Association of the Philippines president Alvin Aguilar said they would send Noel Norada, Jason Baucas, Alvin Lobrequito and Jiah Pingot to qualifying tournaments next year with hopes of booking a spot in the quadrennial games and ending three-decade wait.

“We are expecting four Olympic qualifiers including those in Bulgaria, China and Africa and we have to go to all,” said Aguilar.

Or, Aguilar said they could gain entry via the backdoor.

“We can get a slot as a wild card since the last time we had wrestlers in the Olympics was as far back in the 80s,” said Aguilar.

Wrestling has made significant strides after pocketing a pair of gold medals courtesy of Norada and Baucas in last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Angeles, Pampanga that also ended an eight-year gold drought in the biennial event.

Lobreguito and Pingot contributed two silver medals that hiked the Filipinos’ SEAG haul to 2-10-1 (gold-silver-bronze).

But Aguilar is wary the lack of training due to the COVID-19 pandemic could slow down their progress.

“For now, training is not yet allowed. But I hope the IATF approves the request for our national athletes to start training because we really need to be prepared for the Olympics,” said Aguilar.