Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Sports chief: RP has good chance of bagging Olympic gold By Marianne Saberon-Abalayan
THE hunt for the country's first-ever Olympic gold is still attainable, and this even could come in the Beijing Games next month.
This was the bold prediction of no less than the country's top sports official, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William "Butch" Ramirez as the world's greatest sporting spectacle draws nearer.
Ramirez even believes that Davao City diver Sheila Mae Perez is a very strong athlete to land a medal for Team Philippines in the Beijing Games slated August 8 to 24 in Beijing.
"Maayo si Perez. Kusog siya nga diver. Akong feeling dako iyang tiyansa (She's a very good diver and I feel that she stands a good chance)," Ramirez told sports journalists Saturday.
"Our divers, Perez and Rexel Ryan Fabriga, give us pride. They're among the best in Asia. Sport is pure, if only no human dynamics will interfere in the conduct of the Beijing Games, they can really make it. But biases can spoil those chances," Ramirez added.
He said the level of competition in the Beijing Games is extremely high.
"Winning a gold in the Olympics is difficult. But we are rooting our hopes on taekwondo and boxing. We can't be assured to win a gold but we stand a good chance. We will also compete in wushu, which is a demonstration sport in this year's Olympics," the PSC chief said.
Ramirez, however, said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo doesn't mind if we win a gold in a regular or demonstration sport.
Taekwondo jins Mary Antoinette Rivero and Tshomlee Go have been training hard in South Korea, and Ramirez thinks these two athletes can strike a medal.
"They are training under four coaches of different styles. Toni (Rivero) is sparring with male players. I don't doubt their fighting forms. They are in their best condition for Beijing," Ramirez said.
The PSC added that boxer Harry Taamor is trained by a Cuban coach. He will compete in the light flyweight division.
The other members of RP's Olympics team are archer Mark Javier, shooter Eric Ang, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, long jumpers Marestella Torres and Henry Dagmil, and swimmers Miguel Molina, Daniel Coakley, James Walsh, Ryan Arabejo and Christel Simms.
