Asian Games track and field athletes set to be selected

MANILA, Philippines – Track and field athletes are among the first to be scrutinized by the joint Philippine Olympic Committee (POC)-Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Task Force holds a general assembly meeting on Thursday to start choosing the composition of the country’s delegation to the 2014 Asian Games, set to take place September 19 to October 4 in Incheon, South Korea.

PSC Chairman Ricardo Garcia said the meeting, which aims to consult the National Sports Association (NSA) heads or their representatives, will resume in the first week of February after the 2013 Batang Pinoy national finals in Bacolod City from January 28 to February 1.

“We will invite five NSAs a day where they will present to us the list of athletes that they want to be included to the Philippine delegation. We will ask them to justify why they think that athlete is qualified and we will see if he or she passes the criteria that the Task Force has set,” said Garcia, who was appointed as the country’s Chef de Mission to the 17th Asiad.

Garcia said that the Task Force’s top priority is to immediately identify possible athletes in all individual and measurable sports so the PSC can fund their proper training in strength and conditioning, sports psychology and nutrition.

Gold medalists in the 27th Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar last month are already assured of slots while the silver and bronze medalists, especially in measurable sports like athletics and swimming, will have to go through further scrutiny.

“We will have to look and compare their records to those in the Asian Games. We will check if the record of the athlete, who won a silver or bronze medal, is within the record of the last Asian Games. But all subjective sports like boxing, judo, karate, taekwondo, wrestling and wushu are not included,” said Garcia.

Garcia added that athletes who failed to qualify for the first time will still have a chance since there are still eight months left before the opening of the Incheon Asiad.

“If an athlete competes in a top level tournament like the world championships and won, then we will consider them. For all subjective sports we will look on the list of their possible opponents in the Asian Games,” said Garcia.

The PSC chief is suggesting to all NSAs to pick only the best athletes that they think have a fighting chance in the Asiad.

“We don’t want to become too ambitious with our expectation. To win a medal—gold, silver or bronze—in the Asian Games is a bonus. There are 45 competing countries, just to rank among the top five is already a great achievement,” Garcia said.

“You will contend against athletes from Japan, China, Korea, Iran, Kazakhstan and Southeast Asian countries Thailand and Indonesia. These countries always win in the Olympics and in the world championships.” – Rappler.com