CDM Nonong Araneta: Only 18-20 athletes have shot as Olympic hopefuls

By NICK GIONGCO

Only 18-20 Filipino athletes have genuine chances of making the grade for the Tokyo Olympics, chief of mission Nonong Araneta said during a media briefing Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Araneta said 19 national sports association leaders had submitted a list of 64 names but less than a third “are within striking distance” of the Olympic mark.

Bets from athletics, boxing, cycling, judo and weightlifting are among those knocking on Tokyo’s door, according to Araneta.

2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz is almost a shoo-in as she only has to participate in one more ranking event before being formally getting her berth.

So far, three athletes have formally secured their slots to the July 24-Aug. 9 Olympics: pole vaulter Ej Obiena, world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo and boxer Eumir Felix Marcial.

Araneta said boxing can punch more qualifiers given its storied track record.

Paris will stage the World Qualifying in May and this will be the last chance for the six who failed to make a dent in Jordan to book Olympic slots.

Only Marcial, the 2019 world championships silver medalist, succeeded in hurdling the obstacle in the Jordanian capital of Amman as women’s top seed Nesthy Petecio and five others dropped like flies.

Araneta said that 3×3 basketball is in the running but it will have to come up with a super extraordinary performance during the India qualifiers to make the top three out of 20 entries.

“We are bracketed with Slovenia, France…mukhang malabo yan,” said Araneta, who heads the Philippine Football Federation.

The Philippines is bidding to send a relatively bigger athletes’ list to Tokyo after fielding just 13 in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Source: Manila Bulletin