Philippines concludes 19th Asian Games with identical gold medal haul as 2018
MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines has replicated its four gold medal-finish in the 2018 Asian Games in this year’s Hangzhou meet.
Richard Bachmann latest news
Asiad notes
HANGZHOU – Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard Bachmann said there’s no need to sound the alarm on Team Philippines, which has yet to strike gold after Day 6 of the competition here. He said it’s too early for that. “I’m still hoping,” Bachmann said. The gold has been elusive so far, even for skateboarder Margie Didal, who delivered one of the four golds in the 2018 edition. She came here nursing an ankle injury that required surgery 11 months ago, and finished eighth and last in her event last Wednesday. In 2018, the Philippines struck gold only after three days of competition through Hidilyn Diaz in women’s weightlifting. Also around that time, the Filipinos had four bronze medals on hand. No wonder that some people, six days into the Games, are set to push the panic button. “I’m looking at EJ Obiena (pole vault) and others who can pull off a surprise. You still have weightlifting. Hopefully, they can add,” Bachmann said. “Madami pa ‘yan.” That’s the spirit.
ASIAD notes
HANGZHOU – Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) executive director Paulo Tatad, son of Francisco “Kit” Tatad, who served as minister of Public Information under the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., is in his first Asian Games in an official capacity. He said he liked what he saw in the first week he’s been here. “Well organized. Maganda,” he said. The only thing organizers, he narrated, could have done a better job at, was in security. Actually, it’s not the lack of it but too much of it. “Sumobra naman ang higpit. From the people I’ve spoken to, those who’ve been around, mas mahigpit pa daw dito than the Olympics,” said the PSC official. It’s quite common here for marked Asian Games cars to be inspected, its passengers being asked to get out of the vehicle, even if it’s PSC chairman Richard Bachmann. “Wala silang pinipili. But we are good soldiers. We comply,” said Tatad. Seriously, he’s not complaining. Besides, it’s a good problem to have. ‘Towel, please’
Gilas stamps class vs Bahrain
HANGZHOU – The loudest cheers on this relatively quiet day for Team Philippines in the 19th Asian Games were those for Gilas Pilipinas.