MANILA, Philippines – Filipino pole vault star EJ Obiena has pushed back his season debut.

Obiena will not see action in the Init Indoor Meeting on January 28 as he pulled out of the Karlsruhe, Germany event.

“I’m sorry, need to move my season opener a few days back,” the Asian record holder replied to a fan query on Instagram. “I’ll be back. I promise!”

Obiena has not competed in months as he got embroiled in a rift with the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association, whose president Philip Juico accused him of discrepancies in his liquidation of funds provided by the government.

The world No. 5 then had to get his knee repaired earlier in January, a surgery that kept him out of training for a couple of days.

Obiena, though, will still compete in Germany as he is expected to participate in the ISTAF Indoor in Berlin on February 4.

He was also slated to take part in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Kazakhstan in February, but organizers decided to postpone the meet to 2023 due to the rise of coronavirus cases in the country. – Rappler.com