By Jean Malanum
MANILA – More than 350 foreign delegates are coming to the Philippines for the 10th Senior Aerobic Gymnastics Asian Championships scheduled on Aug. 4-7 at the Tagaytay City Velodrome.
Athletes from powerhouse Vietnam, Japan, Korea, India, Mongolia, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Thailand and the Philippines are competing in individual men and women’s events, mixed pairs, trios, groups, aerobic dance and aerobic steps.
India has the most entries with 50, followed by Vietnam with 45, and the Philippines with 43.
The four-day tournament, organized by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) and presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), features youth (12-14 years old), junior (15-17) and senior (18 and above) categories.
“We have wanted to stage this event for some time, and we are proud to say that we finally have it. Aerobics is not only an exercise. It is also a competition,” said GAP president Cynthia Carrion in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday at the PSC media room inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila.
Carrion was joined by GAP secretary-general Rowena Eusuya in the session presented by San Miguel Corporation, PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO and the country’s 24/7 sports app ArenaPlus.
“I cannot promise anything because the other countries are really good,” said Carrion, when asked how the country will fare in the meet sanctioned by the World Gymnastics and Asian Gymnastics Union.
The GAP chief noted that Arcenio Cadios and Charmaine Dolar are medal contenders after winning the mixed pair silver medal at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok last year.
“In Dolar, we also expect to do well in the women’s individual event and in the women’s trios in siblings Dorothy Grace and Danielle Grade and Princess Johana Pama,” said Carrion, who also served as PSC commissioner during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The 10th Senior Aerobic Gymnastics Asian Championships is the second major international event that the GAP and the PSC, under chairman Patrick Gregorio, are presenting in only nine months after the Junior World Artistic Gymnastics Championships last November.
The City of Tagaytay, through Mayor Brent Tolentino and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino, has expressed its readiness to host the event and showcase its beauty before the foreign delegates.
“Through this Championship, I believe that the city locals and the whole nation are one in bringing Asian sport to new heights and inspire all Asian athletes to celebrate discipline and push their boundaries of excellence,” said Carrion, a former Tourism undersecretary.
“Sports unites people. Sports is like music. Memories come back. This is also in line with PSC chairman thrust in hosting international sporting events to boost sports tourism,” she added. (PNA)
