Crippling blow

It is with heavy heart that we recommend the Games to be postponed and be held at a later date.

ERNIE Gawilan and other differently abled athletes have to wait before seeing action in the 10th Asean Para Games. AFP

The 10th Asean Para Games hit a massive snag after the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) admitted that it has no fund to stage it next month.

In a letter addressed to Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC) president Michael Barredo, sports commissioner Arnold Agustin admitted that the delay in the release of the budget from the General Appropriations Act next year would make it difficult for them to hold the event from 18 to 25 January.

Agustin, instead, suggested to stage the Para Games around March, giving them enough time to raise enough budget and organizers to come up with enough preparation to make it as successful as the recent 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

The Para Games is a biennial tourney that is being held shortly after the SEA Games.

This year, the PPC calendared 16 sports; archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, chess, cycling, CP (cerebral palsy), football, goalball, judo, powerlifting, swimming, 10-pin bowling, table tennis, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball and para triathlon.

Obstacle course race was also included as a demonstration sport.

A total of 1,500 athletes from all over Southeast Asia are tipped to participate in 400 events that would be held at the New Clark City, Subic and some venues in Metro Manila.

Initially, the PSC committed P100 million for the staging of the Games, but Barredo said the budget could soar to P350 to P500 million, including competition equipment and expenses for technical officials.

But the PSC stressed that the delays in the release of their own fund and the procurement of neccesary sports equipment would make it difficult for them to finance the staging in January.

“We cannot help but to have fears in the staging of the 2020 Asean Para Games,” Agustin said in a letter obtained by Daily Tribune.

“As such, in pursuit of polished and seamless staging of the 2020 Asean Para Games, it is with heavy heart that we recommend the Games to be postponed and be held at a later date.”

Thailand is looking to dominate the Para Games.

In fact, it is set to send a huge delegation of 317 athletes and 188 officials, which is way more than the contingent of 274 athletes that the host country will deploy.

Indonesia is also serious as it would send 306 athletes while Vietnam will have 109 athletes, Myanmar 108, Cambodia 76, Singapore 61, Laos 31, Brunei 26 and Timor Leste 10.

The Thais are looking to draw their golden harvest from wheelchair racers, who are led by Paralympic champion Pongsakorn Paeyo.

Paeyo, who is training in Nakhon Ratchasima, will see action in 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter events.

“I am confident to win three gold medals,” Pongsakorn, who won two gold and two silver medals in the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, told Phuket News.

The Philippines, meanwhile, has a bright chance to emerge victorious as Ernie Gawilan, Jerrold Mangliwan, Andy Avellana Josephine Medina and Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta would all see action.

Gawilan is a triple gold medalist in the swimming competition of the Asian Para Games in Jakarta last year while Mangliwan is a distinguished wheelchair racer, Avellana is a gold medalist in athletics in the London Paralympics in 2012, Medina is a bronze medalist in the table tennis competition of the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics and Dumapong is a bronze medalist in power lifting in the Sydney Paralympics in 2000.

Unfortunately, they have to wait until March before they could formally see action.