POC chief confident of successful campaign in Asiad

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Philippine obstacle racers (from left) Kaizen Dela Cerna (Silver), Precious Cabuya (Gold), Mark Julius Rodelas(Gold) and Kevin Jeffrey Pascua(Silver) join Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham " Tolentino="" during="" the="" awarding="" ceremony="" for="" Men="" and="" Women="" Individual="" Obstacle="" Race="" at="" Southeast="" Asia="" Games="" in="" Phnom="" Cambodia="" on="" May="" POC="" PSC="" media="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/tvpatrol/05/23/20230506-seagames-ph-obstacle-race-winners-poc12.jpg"/><figcaption>Philippine obstacle racers (from left) Kaizen Dela Cerna (Silver), Precious Cabuya (Gold), Mark Julius Rodelas(Gold) and Kevin Jeffrey Pascua(Silver) join Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham &quot;Bambol&quot; Tolentino during the awarding ceremony for the Men and Women Individual Obstacle Race at the 32nd Southeast Asia Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 6, 2023. <em>POC/PSC Media/ handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- Filipino athletes are expected to surpass their four-gold haul from the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta when they campaign in Hangzhou, China later this year. </p><p>Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Rep. Abraham &quot;Bambol&quot; Tolentino expressed his confidence that Team Philippines will be successful in the 2022 Asiad, set for September 23 to October 8. The multi-nation event was originally scheduled for September 2022 before being delayed over COVID-19 concerns. </p><p>&quot;Siguradong malalampasan natin &#x27;yun,&quot; Tolentino said of Filipino athletes&#x27; four-gold haul from Indonesia in 2018, during an appearance at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday.</p><p>Hidilyn Diaz (weightlifting), Margielyn Didal (street skateboard), and Yuka Saso (golf) all won individual golds in Jakarta, with Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan, and LK Go adding a team gold from golf.</p><p>Rogen Ladon (boxing) and Kiyomi Watanabe (judo) also brought home silvers while the Philippines won 15 bronzes.</p><p>&quot;Dalawang tao lang ang katapat noon,&quot; said Tolentino. &quot;EJ [Obiena] and [Carlos] Yulo lang ang katapat noon. That&#x27;s it.&quot;</p><p>&quot;So may nakatago ka pang weightlifting, may nakatago ka pang boxing. May nakatago ka pang, mag-iiba na &#x27;yang timpla ng wrestling, judo and others,&quot; he added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/08/23/seag-yulo-retains-all-around-gold-as-ph-nabs-team-silver">SEA Games: Yulo retains all-around gold as PH nabs team silver</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/08/23/ej-obiena-shatters-seag-record-to-claim-pole-vault-gold">EJ Obiena shatters SEAG record to claim pole vault gold</a></li></ul><p>Obiena competed in 2018, placing seventh when he cleared 5.30-meters. At the time, he had just recovered from a knee injury that he suffered just before the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur.</p><p>Yulo, for his part, had placed first in qualifying in the floor exercise but faltered in the final where he placed seventh. He missed the podium in vault, ending up fourth.</p><p>Both athletes have grown by leaps and bounds since then, with Yulo winning a world title in the floor exercise in 2019 and in vault in 2021, while Obiena raised his personal best to 5.94-m while securing a bronze medal in the 2022 World Championships.</p><p>The two Tokyo Olympians are expected to head the charge in Hangzhou but Tolentino believes other athletes will also deliver. Filipino swimmers, in particular, should contend led by Fil-Canadian Kayla Sanchez, who switched federations in July 2022 after previously competing for Canada.</p><p>&quot;Malampasan lang natin &#x27;yung Indonesia Asian Games,&quot; Tolentino said of their target in China, acknowledging that it is still difficult to climb the medal table given the presence of powerhouses like the host nation, Japan, and South Korea.</p><p>The Philippines is expected to send 410 athletes to the 2022 Asian Games, per Tolentino. The POC chief has previously said that gold and silver medalists in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games &quot;will be strongly considered for the national team to Hangzhou.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/19/23/gold-silver-medalists-in-cambodia-potential-shoo-ins-for-asian-games">Gold, silver medalists in Cambodia potential shoo-ins for Asian Games</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2619325" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Filipino athletes are expected to surpass their four-gold haul from the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta when they campaign in Hangzhou, China later this year. 