Obiena pangungunahan ang athletics team sa Hangzhou Asian Games

PANGUNGUNAHAN ni World No.3 pole vaulter Ernest “EJ” Obiena ang athletics team sa 19th Asian Games na nakatakda simula sa Setyembre 23 hanggang Oktobre 8 sa Hangzhou, China.

Pupunta rin sa Hangzhou sina Filipino-Americans Kristina Marie Knott (women’s 200m), Robyn Lauren Brown (women’s 400m hurdles), Eric Shaun Cray (men’s 400m hurdles) at William Edward Morrison III (men’s shot put), at locals Sarah Dequinan (women’s heptathlon), Ronnie Malipay (triple jump), Janry Ubas (long jump).

Sasabak sa women’s 4x400m relay ang homegrown Jessel Lumapas at Filipino- heritage -foreign competitors with Filipino roots) athletes Maureen Emily Schrijvers, Angel Frank at Lauren Hoffman.

Coaches Dario De Rosas, Edward Lasquete, Ukrainian Vitaly Petrov at Samantha Cray ang kasama ng atleta, majority sa kanila ay medalists sa Cambodia Southeast Asian Games (SEA) noong Hunyo.

Ang Italy- based Obiena ang unang Filipino na qualify para sa 2024 Paris Olympics matapos pomuste ng 5.82 meters sa panahon ng Diamond League- Bauhaus Galan sa Sweden Hulyo 3.

Inokupahan ang World No. 2 spot matapos ang SEA Games.

Nagwagi rin ang 27-year-old Obiena sa 2023 Asian Championship sa Thailand noong Hulyo, nagtala ng kontinental rekord na 5.91m.

Sa Monaco leg ng Diamond League noong Hulyo rin, Obiena ay nagrehistro ng 5.82m para magtapos second sa likuran ni Nilsen (5.92m)

Ang Team Philippines sa Asiad ay bonubou ng 395 athletes na sasabak sa 37 sports na gaganapin sa 44 venues, una sa lahat sa Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center at sa Deqing, Jinhua, Ningbo, Shaoxing at Wenzhou.

Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez ng fencing at modern pentathlon associations ang magsilbing chef de mission ng Philippine delegation.

Tutulongan siya nina sepak takraw’s Karen Tanchanco-Caballero, ice skating’s Nikki Cheng, wrestling’s Alvin Aguilar at volleyball’s Donaldo Caringal.

“The task of the CDM’s office in Hangzhou is not an easy one, considering the size of our delegation and the competition venues,” Wika ni POC president Abraham Tolentino matapos ianunsyo ang appointment ni Aguilar at Caringal bilang deputy chefs de mission nakaraang Linggo.

Hangzhou ang pangatlong Chinese na mag host ng Games pagkatapos ng Beijing (1990) at Guangzhou (2010).