Carrasco, Magat top candidates to be Asian Games chief

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) Chairman Tom Carrasco and Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) Secretary General Romeo Magat are the top two candidates being considered by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chief Ricardo Garcia to be his Deputy Chef de Mission (CDM) in the Incheon Asian Games.

Garcia was appointed to be the country’s Chef de Mission when South Korea’s northwestern city hosts the 17th edition of the quadrennial regional games from September 19 to October 4.

PSC Chairman Garcia is looking to appoint an assistant CDM that will help him in making sure the Philippine delegation’s concerns, from training to competition, are addressed in the run-up to the 2014 Asiad.

Garcia is also the Asian Games Task Force head with Carrasco, Magat and PSC technical official Paul Ycasas. Gacia and Ycasas are representing the PSC while Carrasco, who is also the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (Trap) President, Magat and Philippine Handball Federation Secretary General Jay Adalem are their counterparts from the POC.

“Chairman (Richie) Garcia is looking for a working deputy who will closely monitor all the needs of the entire Philippine delegation. The deputy CDM will also share the duties of Chairman Garcia and can make decisions on important issues,” said Ycasas.

Garcia could not easily decide on who will be the country’s deputy CDM since Carrasco and Magat also have other functions in their respective national sports associations.

Carrasco, who was the country’s CDM in the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar, is busy with his duties in the POC and overseeing the Philippine team’s training and the national age group tournament while Magat is also a consultant with the PSC aside from performing his responsibilities with Philta.

The Task Force met on Monday to discuss their specific duties and responsibilities to set up the Asian Games Secretariat. 

Garcia said the Task Force’s primary duty is to establish the criteria that will be used for the selection of athletes that will be included to the official Philippine delegation.

“Winning a medal in the last Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar does not assure you of a slot. We will have to look and compare their records to those in the Asian Games. Subjective sports like boxing, judo, karate, taekwondo, wrestling and wushu are not included,” said Garcia.

The tournament that you joined in and won, and who are your possible opponents in the Asian Games will be the basis of comparison for all subjective sports.

The PSC has set aside P35 million war chest for the country’s participation to the Asiad since they are expecting a bigger number of athletes with the inclusion of baseball, basketball, football, rugby, softball and volleyball. – Rappler.com