Sports Eye

By August 6, 2012Opinion, Sports Eye

Something is majorly wrong in our national sports

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

OUR country sent a tiny delegation to the London Olympic Games composed of only 11 athletes because our sports leaders believe that they are the only athletes capable to win at least a medal in this quadrennial meet. But unfortunately as of this writing (Friday), six of our athletes were already booted out and just in their first round of competition. Only five remain in contention headed by the ballyhooed light flyweight boxer Mark Anthony Barriga and (maybe) BMX (bicycle motocross) Fil-Am cyclist Danny Caluag, the four-time No. 1 pro rider in the United States.

But like the bombed-out weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, archers Mark Javier and Rachelle Anne Cabral, swimmers Jessie Khing Lacuna and Jasmine Alkhaldi and skeetshooter Brian Rosario, I’m not giving much weight to the other three – long jumper Marestella Torres, Filipino-Japanese judoka Tomohiko Hoshima and 5,000-meter runner Rene Herrera. Why? Because their best personal records speak for themselves, far from the world list. And due to this debacle of the six, many of our sports connoisseurs (except me) are saying that it looks like we don’t have a chance at all to win the elusive gold medal. The competition is too tough to hurdle this year unlike the previous Olympics. Athletes from many countries are fast perking up while our athletes are going the opposite way.

And this letdown has prompted some of our lawmakers to file a bill suggesting to abolish the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), which is not giving any help at all. I say that this is baloney because to me it’s not PSC that is to blame but our National Sports Associations (NSA), they that take care of the athletes. PSC’s job is just to finance our nationals in any international competition. And once the money has been given to the different NSAs as they requested, it will be an automatic call for the NSAs to take charge of their respective sportspersons. And if they fail, it will be their fault, not PSC’s. And their failure could be because of their wrong program for their athletes. I’ve been there so I know it.

Perhaps the only fault of PSC that can be established is if the leaders of this government are so tightwad in giving money to the NSAs. Financing the training of our nationals is so vital, especially their food and equipment. Once you fail to provide these to them, the athletes are demoralized and that can jeopardize their preparation for the games. But I never hear about the PSC being tightfisted. Whatever the NSA financially requests and as long as it passes the criteria, the PSC generously gives it to them. So blame it on the NSAs and not the PSC if we are failing in any international contest because the NSAs take care of their athletes in training and in competition.

Nonetheless, I believe there’s something majorly wrong in our national sports program and this is the real cause of our frequent failures. We should find out what’s ailing it and if we can’t find it ourselves, we must hire experts from other countries like what the other nations are doing now. Our Asian neighbors like Thailand, North Korea, Indonesia, Taipei, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore, particularly China, South Korea and Japan are badly beating us. They already won golds, unlike us. Something is really big wrong in our sports. We should find out how to fix it and move forward.

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In my last column I predicted that the newly crowned Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins of England will win the gold in the time-trial race in this year’s London Olympics. It came true. The 32-year-old Londoner won his fourth Olympic gold, his first in the road after three previous ones in velodrome (track) racing. He has a total of seven medals (silver and two bronzes) now starting in the 2004 Athens Games and still aiming for more in the individual and pursuit races plus the Madison event. These are all in track competitions. And another cyclist that amazed me during this London Games was American Kristin Armstrong (not related to seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong) who defended the time-trial gold she bagged in the Beijing Games four years ago. I believe she’s the first woman to do that feat. I still believe that she can do it again in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Games. She’s my idol in female cycling. I hope to see her there if my plan will not be miscarried. Let’s wait and see four years from now.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. JAMES 3: 14-17

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