LOCAL sports tourism gets a boost when the 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) under the NST-IAC comes off the wraps on June 23, 2026 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“We had expected only about 500 athletes but those numbers are swelling since we presently have about 400 of them already. We could end up with over 600 grapplers from 31 countries,” said Pilipinas Sambo Federation Inc. president Paolo Tancontian.
Tancontian said that regional neighbor Cambodia, with its thriving sambo community, is fielding a 42-member squad that will seek to make its influence felt in the five-day meet sanctioned by the International Sambo Federation (FIAS).
“These numbers may seem small for team sports, but for sambo that is a lot of entries.”
He disclosed that even distant Asian countries Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, Iran and Syria, plus Oceania nations Australia and New Zealand were keenly interested in joining the blue-ribbon sambo tournament.
PSC chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio said this positive and encouraging development was another sign that the government sports agency’s advocacy in supporting sports tourism was a worthwhile economic endeavor.
“Hosting a well-organized international competition like the forthcoming 11th Asia-Oceania Sambo Championships is always a welcome enterprise that generates income for both the government and the tourism industry,” Gregorio noted.
“Sports events like these are win-win situations for all: the foreign visitors, fans, and the various stakeholders involved in staging them.” / RSC from PR