Nagpadala ng liham ang Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) sa governing body ng Olympics para sa posibleng paglahok ni Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao sa Paris Games sa susunod na taon.
BASAHIN: Sinabi ni POC President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino nitong Linggo, Oktubre 8, na ipinadala niya ang request sa International Olympic Committee (IOC) bago siya umalis sa Hangzhou, China, kung saan ginanap kamakailan ang 19th Asian Games.
“October talaga ang pag-submit ng appeal. We just emailed the IOC on that issue…if he will be allowed to bid one of the universality (places),” ayon kay Tolentino.
Sinabi ni Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines Secretary-General Marcus Manalo na ang bid ni Pacquiao ay nahahadlangan ng limitasyon ng edad sa Olympic qualifiers.
“The age limit is set by the Paris boxing unit. It has always been 19 to 40,” saad ni Marcus.
“I don’t know if there will be exemption for this, but siguro pwedeng i-challenge ‘yung [perhaps we can challenge the] reasoning behind 40, because he could be more conditioned than, you know, boxers younger than his age,” dagdag pa niya.