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 IF
performances in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG)
are the gauge, Team Philippines would gain nine gold
medals from the 48 events recently added by host
Thailand to the roster of events for the 24th edition of
the biennial sportsfest in December.
And if
RP athletes maintain their standing from two years ago,
the country would gain one gold medal each from
billiards, boxing and cycling and two each from
dancesport, diving and traditional boat racing from the
events added by the Thai organizers, BusinessMirror
gathered from past records.
Events
in wushu, the top medal producer for the country in 2005
with 12 gold medals from 22 events, were drastically cut
by the Thais to just 14. But Filipinos could contend in
the two events the hosts added to the original 12 on
their calendar.
Organizers added sanshou (fighting) events for 65-kg men
and 60-kg women to wushu. Both weight classes were not
in the roster of events in 2005, but back then Mark
Ediva won bronze at 60 kgs and Eduard Folayang got gold
at 70 kgs for the men, while Rhea May Rifani topped the
women’s 52-kg class.
Rene
Catalan, arguably RP wushu’s biggest star after winning
gold in the Doha Asian Games, is competing for sure in
sanshou’s 52-kg men’s division—unlike Folayang, who
might not be in Thailand after claiming silver in the
Asiad last December. He would sacrifice his power to
lose weight for the SEAG 65-kg class.
As for
RP athletes in bodybuilding, canoe-kayak, gymnastics,
karatedo and squash, it’s a chance for them to rebound
from mediocre performances in the 2005 Games that saw
Filipinos win a record 112 gold medals overall.
Among
the athletes who got a second chance to compete in
Thailand—and hopefully retain their gold medals
there—are cue masters Alex Pagulayan and Dennis Orcollo,
woman boxer Mitchel Martinez, cycling’s Alfie Catalan
and divers Shiela Mae Perez and Zardo Domenios.
Pagulayan and Orcollo teamed up for the 9-ball men’s
doubles gold, one of eight RP cue masters won two years
ago. Organizers added the event along with red ball
snooker singles for both men and women.
Martinez,
a bronze medalist in the 2006 Women’s World
Championships, claimed SEAG gold in the 60-kg class over
Thailand’s Ratree Kruake and will be glad to repeat the
feat in her foe’s motherland.
Catalan,
meanwhile, nipped
Malaysia’s
Amiruddin Jamaluddin for the gold in the four-km men’s
individual pursuit, and should help the RP cyclists
improve on the silver it settled for in the team pursuit
two years ago.
Perez,
who became a SEAG star by claiming three gold medals in
’05, gets a chance to keep her title in the one-meter
springboard for women. Fellow diver Domenios would also
work hard to keep the three-meter synchro springboard
men’s gold he claimed with partner Niño Carog.
Filipino
teams swept the dancesport and traditional boat race
events in 2005, RP dancers taking two golds and the
rowers six, so keeping them in Nakhon Ratchasima should
not be a problem.
However,
organizers expanded dancesport to 10 medal events, five
each for the Standard and Latin classes, while cutting
the boat race roster to just four events—500-meter and
1,000-meter 10-a-side races for both men and women.
As for
the other sports recently added by the Thais, Filipinos
in 2005 won three gold medals in karatedo and one in
gymnastics, and should increase that tally come
December.
The
Thais, who will stage the Games in Nakhon Ratchasima
starting December 6, had stripped as many as 24 medal
events Filipino athletes won two years ago en route to
helping host RP claim its first overall SEAG title.
But on
June 6, the SEAG Federation Council added the number of
medal events after intense lobbying from the Games
member-countries, bringing the total gold medals at
stake in
Thailand
to 485 from 43 sports disciplines.
Those
totals top the 40-sport and 441-event roster in the ’05
Philippine edition. It’s the highest number of sporting
events in the history of the SEAG, more events than
either the Asian Games or the Olympics. |
