In Doha Games
By Alex Vidal
"Windflowers, my father told me not to go near them, they fear them always" SEALS AND CROFT
Warring officials of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) should draw inspiration from the sports unity being shown by North Korea and South Korea . Due to turf wars, the welfare of some national athletes has always been the major casualties especially in the disbursement of funds to members of the national sports associations (NSA) who are entitled to receive regular allowances as mandated by law.
Many NSAs still owe the PSC some millions of pesos in unliquidated cash advances incurred since last year the reason why it stopped giving financial assistance to some prized athletes sent abroad to undergo rigid trainings in preparations for the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar on December 1-15, 2006. Complaints against mismanagement by some PSC officials have fallen on deaf ears as the PSC itself is being bedeviled by leadership crisis owing to the lack of continuity in the programs being implemented by the agency’s top honchos who just come and go as often as one changes his socks. Padrino system is also still prevalent in Philippine sports. Politicians with strong connections in Malacañang are the main culprits for the sudden arrival of inept political appointees in major sports offices which have been transformed into asylums of underachievers.
Even before the Doha Games started, predictions have been flying thick and fast that the country will amass at least five gold medals in a hope to eclipse the three-gold medals haul won by boxers in the Hiroshima Games in 1994. That remains to be seen as PSC chair Butch Ramirez had already offered to resign immediately after the Asian Games probably to escape the heat of negative public backlash in the event the country falters and fails to deliver the projected medals.
(After seven (7) days of the games, the Philippines has zero medal. It is lamentable to see our athletes beaten after the other even in boxing.)
POLITICAL RIFT DISREGARDED
Meanwhile, the two Koreas once again put aside their political rift to show the world that both countries are united when it comes to sports. Technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty, but their ties have warmed significantly following the 2000 inter-Korea summit between the two countries’ leaders.
South and North Korean athletes marched together at the opening ceremony for the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar on December 2. The march served as the first sign of reconciliation since the communist North staged a nuclear weapons test on October 9, 2006, raising tensions on the divided peninsula.
"Our side has agreed to accept the North’s proposal that athletes from both sides march together for the opening ceremony," Korea Sports Council spokesman Kim Tae-Hyong said. The games opened on Saturday. The North’s offer was made on November 11. It also proposed talks on fielding a unified team for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, in its first official call for dialogue since the test.
(Medals won in the games, however, are being credited to either North or South Korea depending from where the athletes belong.)
JOINT ENTRY DURING THE GAMES
"Both sides held talks in Qatar to work out details of the joint entry for the opening ceremony as well as their joint march for the closing ceremony," Kim said. They would also discuss a possible unified team for Beijing, he added. South Korean Olympic chief Kim Jung-Kil informed his North Korean counterpart, Mun Jae-Duk, agreeing to hold talks on forming the unified Olympic team, Yonhap news agency said.
The first round of talks was held in Doha on Thursday, it said. The two countries, still technically at war, have sent unified delegations to seven international sporting events since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but have never fielded a unified team for any athletic event. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge in September expressed support for a unified team for the 2008 Games. But there have been no official inter-Korean talks since the nuclear test. The North has been hit by international sanctions for its weapons programmes. /MP mailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com
Many NSAs still owe the PSC some millions of pesos in unliquidated cash advances incurred since last year the reason why it stopped giving financial assistance to some prized athletes sent abroad to undergo rigid trainings in preparations for the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar on December 1-15, 2006. Complaints against mismanagement by some PSC officials have fallen on deaf ears as the PSC itself is being bedeviled by leadership crisis owing to the lack of continuity in the programs being implemented by the agency’s top honchos who just come and go as often as one changes his socks. Padrino system is also still prevalent in Philippine sports. Politicians with strong connections in Malacañang are the main culprits for the sudden arrival of inept political appointees in major sports offices which have been transformed into asylums of underachievers.
Even before the Doha Games started, predictions have been flying thick and fast that the country will amass at least five gold medals in a hope to eclipse the three-gold medals haul won by boxers in the Hiroshima Games in 1994. That remains to be seen as PSC chair Butch Ramirez had already offered to resign immediately after the Asian Games probably to escape the heat of negative public backlash in the event the country falters and fails to deliver the projected medals.
(After seven (7) days of the games, the Philippines has zero medal. It is lamentable to see our athletes beaten after the other even in boxing.)
POLITICAL RIFT DISREGARDED
Meanwhile, the two Koreas once again put aside their political rift to show the world that both countries are united when it comes to sports. Technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty, but their ties have warmed significantly following the 2000 inter-Korea summit between the two countries’ leaders.
South and North Korean athletes marched together at the opening ceremony for the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar on December 2. The march served as the first sign of reconciliation since the communist North staged a nuclear weapons test on October 9, 2006, raising tensions on the divided peninsula.
"Our side has agreed to accept the North’s proposal that athletes from both sides march together for the opening ceremony," Korea Sports Council spokesman Kim Tae-Hyong said. The games opened on Saturday. The North’s offer was made on November 11. It also proposed talks on fielding a unified team for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, in its first official call for dialogue since the test.
(Medals won in the games, however, are being credited to either North or South Korea depending from where the athletes belong.)
JOINT ENTRY DURING THE GAMES
"Both sides held talks in Qatar to work out details of the joint entry for the opening ceremony as well as their joint march for the closing ceremony," Kim said. They would also discuss a possible unified team for Beijing, he added. South Korean Olympic chief Kim Jung-Kil informed his North Korean counterpart, Mun Jae-Duk, agreeing to hold talks on forming the unified Olympic team, Yonhap news agency said.
The first round of talks was held in Doha on Thursday, it said. The two countries, still technically at war, have sent unified delegations to seven international sporting events since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, but have never fielded a unified team for any athletic event. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge in September expressed support for a unified team for the 2008 Games. But there have been no official inter-Korean talks since the nuclear test. The North has been hit by international sanctions for its weapons programmes. /MP mailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com
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