A total of 64 athletes from 19 sports disciplines are still seeking qualifying berths to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Chef de mission and Philippine Football Federation president Mariano “Nonong” Araneta said this after boxer Eumir Marcial became the third Filipino athlete to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, joining earlier qualifiers gymnast Carlos Yulo and pole-vaulter EJ Obiena.
“We have 19 sports disciplines which have the potential of sending athletes to the Olympics,” said Araneta following a meeting with officials of the Philippine Sports Commission.
The potential qualifiers, according to Araneta, will come from archery, athletics, swimming, 3×3 basketball, cycling, canoe-kayak, golf, gymnastics, judo, karate, rowing, skateboarding, table tennis taekwondo, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling.
After Marcial became the lone Filipino boxer to earn a slot, hope is not lost of the Philippines in boxing.
The Philippines can still send a national boxing team to a final qualifier in Paris in tMay.
Araneta explained that a total budget P150 million is now available for Filipino athletes seeking to join the qualifiers.
That’s because President Duterte has allocated P100 million for this, while the PSC has allotted another P50 million for such an undertaking.
Araneta noted that there six archers reparing for the Olympiad, along with five in athletics and two in swimming.
Cagers in 3×3 basketball were supposed to join a qualifier this March in Bengaluru, India on March 18 to 22 have been called off because of the threats posed by the coronavirus disease-19 outbreak.