THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) welcomed the national weightlifting and fencing teams which flew back home on Thursday night from their respective Olympic qualifying tournaments in Tashkent.
“Despite the imposed lockdowns and curfews in Metro Manila, we wanted to honor our athletes who made the country proud, within boundaries of the safety protocols of course,” PSC Chairman William Ramirez said.
Ramirez wanted a bigger welcome for the athletes but because of the modified enhanced community quarantine, the PSC arranged a welcome program within the bounds of health and safety protocols.
The weightlifters brought home two gold, six silver and three bronze medals from the Asian Weightlifting Championships and will be receiving cash incentives under Republic Act 10699 or the “National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.’’
Hidilyn Diaz also formalized her fourth-consecutive Olympics appearance in Tokyo even though she placed—fourth in the 55kg category in Tashkent—becoming the seventh Filipino to qualify for Tokyo.
Vanessa Sarno, Mary Flor Diaz, Elreen Ando and Kristel Macrohon came home with medals around their necks to mark as successful their stint in the Uzbekistan capital.
The fencers, on the other hand, secured a bronze medal through Samantha Catantan in the women’s foil event at the Asian-Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament also in Tashkent.
She was joined by teammates Nathaniel Perez, Jylyn Nicanor, Noelito Jose, Hanniel Abella and CJ Concepcion.
The PSC granted P4.9 million for airfare, hotel accommodation, allowances and other travel expenses of the weightlifting team. The fencers, on the other hand, got P1.2 million in financial assistance for the event.
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