PSC raves about athletes’ strong showing

NAGOYA, Japan — The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) expressed its overwhelming pride over Team Philippines’ solid showing in the 20th Asian Games that officially ends on Sunday.

Joining PSC chairperson Patrick “Pato” Gregorio in rallying behind the flag were commissioner Walter Torres and executive director Guillermo Iroy, who commended the Filipino athletes who excelled in almost 20 sports.

“We’re very happy we won so many medals in so many sports — if I am not mistaken, 18, 19 sports. In China (2023 Hangzhou Asian Games), we won in 11 sports. This is the big change and that’s an important development in Philippine sports and to our grassroots program.”

The Philippines has logged a gold-silver-bronze tally of 4-9-16 and the PSC said the cash rewards of winning athletes have already reached P35 million.

Gregorio is hoping that the figure would rise as corporate sponsors and even the government would provide additional funding in the coming days.

“It has reached P35 million in incentives or rewards to the Filipino athletes who won a medal and that’s for the athletes and coaches. I hope the amount gets higher.”

Asked about social media critics who focus on losses while overlooking the country’s upward trajectory in Olympic disciplines, Gregorio urged Filipinos to appreciate the true spirit of competition and the blood and tears behind every podium finish — citing 18-year-old taekwondo silver medalist Tachiana Keizha Mangin’s dramatic run on Friday night.

“Look at our gold medal tally: we have four, hopefully five; we have eight, nine silver medals, and look at the number of bronze medals,” Gregorio pointed out.

“I came to realize one thing when I watched Tachiana Magin last night. How did she make it to the finals? She was down by three points against her Japanese foe (Ruka Okamoto) in the last one second.”