CURT JAIRUS PEREZ AND MARK ALLYSON FEDERIO THE 2020 TOKYO Olympics was special and Filipinos could not agree more. The nation won its first gold medal and the national anthem was played for the first time on the podium. It was also the time where the Philippines won multiple medals since the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. All of this through the strength and determination of four olympiads, Hidilyn Diaz, Nesthy Petecio, Eumir Marcial, and Carlo Paalam. Game Day Hidilyn Diaz and Nesthy Petecio were the only two Filipino women who won a medal for the nation with Diaz taking the Philippines’ first gold medal while Petecio competed in the women’s featherweight boxing where she won silver. The battle for gold medal in Diaz’s match was tight as she faced China’s one weightlifter, Liao Quiyun. Both athletes recorded the same score of 97kg in the snatch portion of the competition but it was only in the clean and jerk portion of the competition where Diaz possessed an upper hand and beat Liao by a kilogram, Diaz lifted 267 and Liao 266. On the other hand, Petecio was able to beat Irma Testa by a lopsided victory, giving her the chance to win the second gold for the nation. However, Petecio lost to Sena Irie of Japan by unanimous decision, thus the Filipina receiving a
silver medal. “Maraming salamat po sa lahat ng sumuporta. Pasensya na po at silver lang ang naiiuwi kong medalya. Babawi tayo, Pilipinas, ” Petecio thanked her supporters and promised to vie for redemption. Eumir Marcial and Carlo Paalam became the Philippines’ third and fourth medalists, respectively. Marcial won bronze in the Men’s middleweight boxing quarterfinals, while Paalam was guaranteed of atleast a silver medal in the Men’s Flyweight Boxing Quarterfinals as of August 5. Marcial traded punches with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniakin but still fell short in the men’s middleweight division via 3-2 split decision. However, during the quarter finals Hidilyn Diaz fueled Marcial’s campaign towards an Olympic Medal, he said “It’s a big achievement that Hidilyn won. First of all, we’re both from Zamboanga and we’re also together in the Philippine Airforce. I’m so inspired by her.” On the other side of the ring, Carlos Paalam surprised Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov by knocking him off his spot to become the Philippines’ latest Olympic medalist. This punched his way into the semi-finals where he won against the hometown bet Ryomei Tanaka via unanimous decision. This will either be the Philippines’ fourth silver in boxing or its first-ever gold. Olympic Journey However, the journey of these five athletes were never smooth as all faced issues and underfunding from the Philippine government just like Diaz who expressed her sentiments in an Instagram story last 2019. “Is it okay to ask (for) sponsorship sa mga private companies towards Tokyo 2020? Hirap na hirap na ‘ko, I need financial support. Sa tingin
niyo, okay lang kaya, nahihiya kasi ako pero try ko kapalan mukha ko para sa minimithi kong pangarap para sa atin bansa na maiuwi ang gold medal sa Olympics,” Diaz posted. Aside from that, she was also accused by former presidential spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, as a helper of the left movement in the nation which she denied later on. Just like Diaz, Marcial also faced underfunding and had to rigorously campaign for his funding in preparations for the Tokyo Olympics. “Mga taong walang alam sa sports tahimik nalang kayo! Hindi niyo alam ang katotohanan. Since last year nong nasa United States ako hanggang ngayon dito sa Zamboanga City tingin niyo sapat ang P43,000 monthly allowance para sa preparation para sa Olympics? (which is allowance ko ‘yun sa sarili ko as a national athlete),” Marcial posted on Facebook last May. Marcial continued to say that the government should not have high performance expectations if it does not adequately support its athletes in terms of allocating funds for plane tickets, accomodation, food, coaching staff, and other essentials. However, some Filipinos just made fun of him. Not a fruit, but a sword The future of Philippines sports is on a rope between two cliffs. If it continues its old ways of underfunding and corruption, it would fall and collapse. If it changes its ways and successfully passes, the nation would record feats never achieved before in sports. The future of Philippine sports is bright, but it can turn into a nightmare, if changes are not done. “Medalists do not grow on trees, they have to be forged,” a quote from Aamir Khan from the movie Dangal.
