With fewer events offered, the Philippines will have reduced chances of winning medals in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
The newly-appointed Philippine chef de mission, commissioner Ramon Fernandez of the Philippine Sports Commission said this with 10 months left before the biennial meet gets under way in Hanoi.
The Games will feature 40 sports and more than 520 events, 26 of which will be held in Hanoi.
Fernandez said discussions on the Philippines medal chances will be tackled in the coming General Assembly of the Philippine Olympic Committee towards the end of the month.
“We will meet with the POC leadership. We will be pencil-pushing, and review what sports will be played,” remarked Fernandez.
And it’s not only the Philippines’ preparation for the biennial meet which has been slowed down by restrictions imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemics.
Vietnam’s efforts to host the Games have also been affected.
That’s because projects that are being done to improve facilities serving the Games in Hanoi are still going on.
And the venues involved are scheduled to be completed by September 30.
Vietnamese organizers are fixing 41 sites nationwide to host events.
“We will be checking our medal performances in the events that will be played,” added Fernandez.
There are 23 venues are in Hanoi, with 15 that are under the city’s management.
Coaches and athletes in the capital city are expected to account for one-third of Vietnam’s competitors.
The Games will feature 40 sports and more than 520 events, 26 of which will be held in Hanoi.
The opening and closing ceremonies will take place at the capital’s My Dinh Stadium.
The Philippines will have delays in preparations. Among the reasons is that the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases has not yet allowed any physical training to happen.
Physical training under a bubble in Calamba, Laguna will commence this Saturday.
The training stint is meant for athletes who will preparing to join Olympic qualification competitions.
And it will be a 90-day training stint for the sports disciplines of boxing, karatedo and karatedo at the Inspire Sports Academy.
Members of the Gilas Pilipinas men’s basketball team have secured approval to train under a bubble this weekend in Calamba.
Selected players for the Gilas squad will be seeing action in February in the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.