HOMEGROWN IN FOREIGN SOIL

Is it really Filipino pride when national athletes take root in their home country but thrive and bear fruit in foreign soil? Or is it simply because foreign lands provide the sustenance Filipino athletes seek and gravely need?

It was in 2019 when Carlos Yulo penned Philippine gymnastics history, with his gold-clinching floor exercise routine in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Stuttgart, Germany; a feat that graced the sports sections of televisions and newspapers— out of nowhere, we have a gymnastics world champion.

In the same year, Nesthy Petecio ended the 7-year drought of a worlds title in the AIBA Women’s Boxing World Championships in Russia.

The Philippines would host the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) games, where weightlifting marvel Hidilyn Diaz, along with Yulo, and Petecio, dominated their respective fields. Diaz was also fresh from clinching the bronze medal in the 2019 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, to maintain her next Olympic bid.

Ernest John Obiena would also qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2019, after clearing 5.81 meters in pole vault in the 30th Summer Universiade held in Chiari, Italy. He would also claim his first gold in the 2019 SEA games.

Margielyn Didal also bagged two gold medals in skateboarding, proving her prowess in the rarely recognized sport and maintaining her top spot-clinching routine in the 2018 Asian Games.

It was indeed a year for national athletes; Filipino pride, as we labeled it.

From there, we would witness Diaz claim the Philippines’ first Olympic gold— a feat that was waiting to be accomplished ever since the country participated in the international sporting event way back in 1924. Just recently, Obiena broke records in multiple events, propelling pole vault to popularity.

And of course, causing a stir in the tennis scene is Alex Eala, the 2022 US Open girls’ tennis champion. She is the first Filipina to earn a Grand Slam in tennis.

While all of these feats are cause for celebration, and while the athletes themselves revel in the fact that Filipinos are avid supporters of sports, a common denominator in the sporting scene persists: athletes opt to train abroad.

This is not, by all means a bad thing; after all, it is natural for competitors to seek the best in order to be the best— in facilities, training programs, coaches— it is simply that, we soak in the pride only after we reap what is sowed.

Take now American citizen Wesley So, who is and will always be the Philippines’ chess marvel, but now chose to represent the country that made him a chess marvel.

The future of sports, and moreover, athletes who bear the flag in international events is, so to speak, bleak. Our home soil is barren, save for some wild growth that is hope— because as administrative support remains a far-fetched dream, the community has rallied, and will always rally behind our sporting heroes.

Bearing the so-called Filipino pride is all the more meaningful if it is embodied through much needed well-crafted training programs, accessible facilities, and appropriate exposure.

Then one day, a golden age for Philippine sports will be brought about in our own soil, and will also bring about a golden age for the politics that would underlie and ensure the steadfast growth of sportsmen and sportswomen— from student athletes to national representatives.