RP begins Asian Youth Games bid
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 06/29/2009 11:00 AM
Printer-friendly version | 
Send to friend | 
Share your views
The Philippine team is set to field its players sans the footballers as the first Asian Youth Games (AYG) kicked off Monday in Singapore.
The country’s youth football team was not able to compete because one player tested positive for the A(H1N1) influenza virus.
The rest of the team including the coaches underwent quarantine which made them unable to fulfill their fixtures. The team arrived in Manila on Sunday.
The RP youth players who remained in Singapore, meantime, are expected to compete in various events in swimming, bowling, shooting and athletics.
The tournament’s site, www.ayg2009.sg, noted that events in athletics, aquatics, sailing, and bowling are scheduled on the first day, June 29, 2009. The Opening Ceremony will be held Monday night.
The AYG, which features athletes aged 14 to 17, will run until July 7.
It has 90 gold medals at stake in nine sports: table tennis, shooting, sailing, football, bowling, beach volleyball, basketball, athletics and aquatics.
Friendship cup
The Filipino footballers may have been dropped from the AYG line-up, but their training for the event did not go in vain.
They were able to play in the AYG Friendship Football Cup last Saturday at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The RP football team drew 2-2 with the Singapore Select team.
“The AYG Friendship Cup will allow the Philippines team to compete against an opponent and showcase their talent to the public who were unable to catch them in action,” said co-project director Ng Eng Soon of the Singapore AYG Organising Committee in a statement.
Jose Mari Martinez, Deputy Chef de Mission for the Philippine team, said the footballers appreciated the special arrangement made for them.
Aside from being able to play in the main stadium, the young Filipino football players also received certificates of participation in the AYG. -- With a report from Dante Navarro, The Philippine Star
Comments