Wrestling back in SEA Games – Phisgoc
Credit to Author: JOSEF T. RAMOS, TMT| Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2019 11:45:22 +0000
WRESTLING is back on the list of sports competitions in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, its Philippine organizing committee said on Wednesday.
Ramon “Tats” Suzara, Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) Chief Operating Officer, said United World Wrestling (UWW) Secretary-General Michel Dusson sent a letter to Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP) President Alvin Aguilar, a copy of which The Manila Times obtained.
“We want to thank Congressman Bambol (Tolentino) and Mr. Ramon Suzara for reinstating wrestling. They helped us fix this problem. They really know how important wrestling is,” said Aguilar. “We’ll be moving forward now to our SEA Games preparation and hoping this won’t happen again.”
UWW’s letter to Phisgoc confirmed the endorsement of Daulet Turlykhanov as the assigned technical delegate to wrestling for Southeast Asian Games.
Phisgoc last August 26 delisted wrestling as one of the sports to be played in SEA Games after failing to secure an authorization letter from the UWW, a requirement by the SEA Games Federation Charter.
Aguilar blamed Phisgoc Executive Director Tom Carrasco for the fiasco and removal of certain important events like grappling. Carrasco, president of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines, denied all the allegations.
The founding father of mixed martial arts in the Philippines said that wrestling would absolutely be the host country’s gold mine if only all his proposed 25 events were approved but only 14 were approved by Phisgoc.
Aguilar also claimed that WAP won 35 gold medals in the Southeast Asian Championship in San Pablo, Laguna last November, which was participated by powerhouse Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.
“We are fighting the exact same people that’s why (Tom) Carrasco wasted all our entries,” he said.
Prior to UWW’s letter, Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Tolentino told Phisgoc to bring wrestling back to the calendar of sports to be played in the biennial meet that would run from November 31 to December 11.
The wrestling competition will be played at the Angeles University Foundation in Pampanga on December 9 and 10, with 14 events composed of the men’s freestyle, greco-roman and women’s freestyle.