Reveille
War-torn Afghanistan wins Olympic bronze
By Ramon J. Farolan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:25:00 09/08/2008
MANILA, Philippines - Yesterday was Grandparents’ Day. For the first time, I noted news advertisements that carried kind words and thoughts about senior citizens. Our thanks to Jollibee for making us feel at home and contributing to a quality of life in dignity.
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Last month, the greatest sports spectacle in the world came to an end. The 29th Olympic Summer Games held in Beijing—only the third staged in Asia after Tokyo and Seoul—closed with a record 87 countries winning gold, silver or bronze medals.
For the third Olympics in a row, the Philippines failed to garner any of some 1,000 medals that were up for grabs.
The Olympic creed written by Pierre de Coubertin, considered the father of the modern Games, reads: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
By that standard, it was enough that we participated in the Games. But other people can perhaps be forgiven if they have started to consider seriously what Leo Durocher, a controversial and outspoken manager in American Major League Baseball, used to tell his players: “How you play the game, is for college ball. When you’re playing for money, winning is the only thing that matters.” While it is true that in the Olympics one plays for God and country, there is no denying that a lot of money is also involved for winning athletes. Leo the Lip is best remembered for the phrase: “Nice guys finish last.”
Consider our history in Olympic competitions.
The Philippines first participated in the Games in 1924 at the Eighth Olympiad in Paris. David Nepomuceno, a sprinter, was our lone athlete. He failed to qualify for the final round. Our second participation was in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. Teofilo Yldefonso finished third in a swimming event, giving the Philippines a bronze medal, a first for the country.
In 1932, three Filipinos won bronze medals in Los Angeles, the most number of medals won by the country in a single Olympiad. Yldefonso repeated his performance in swimming, Simeon Toribio won a bronze in the high jump, while Jose “Cely” Villanueva won another bronze in boxing. In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Miguel White won the bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles.
After World War II, boxer Anthony Villanueva, son of Cely Villanueva, gave us a silver medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, losing out to a Russian boxer for the gold. In 1988, light-flyweight boxer Leopoldo Serrantes won a bronze medal is Seoul. In 1992 another boxer, Roel Velasco, fighting in the same division as Serrantes, also won the bronze medal.
Our last medal, a silver, was won in the 1996 Atlanta Games when “Onyok” Velasco lost in the light-flyweight boxing finals to a Bulgarian. After Atlanta, we were shut out in medal competitions in Sydney (2000), Athens (2004) and now Beijing.
The Beijing Games was not a total wipe-out for Asean. Thailand came out on top with two golds and two silvers, followed by Indonesia with one gold, one silver and three bronzes while Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia had a silver each. The Philippines joined Laos, Cambodia, Brunei and Burma (Myanmar) in the cellar with nothing to show for their participation.
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Believe it or not, Afghanistan, a country of 32 million that has been at war continuously since 1970, won an Olympic medal at the Beijing Games. The country was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1979 and was occupied by Russian forces for 10 years, until Afghan mujahedeens, homegrown guerrilla forces supported by the US Central Intelligence Agency, were able to force the Russians to withdraw.
In 2001, US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in search of Osama bin Laden. Since then Nato units have provided much of the support for Afghan President Hamid Karzai. In recent months, however, resurgent Taliban forces have gone on the offensive, resulting in increasing Nato casualties. Suicide bombings have also been on the rise, especially in and around Kabul, the nation’s capital.
This brief background of conditions in Afghanistan highlights the fact that in spite of difficult circumstances and an unstable environment, the country was able to produce an Olympic medal winner.
Afghanistan sent only four athletes to Beijing. Rohullah Nikpai, a taekwondo athlete, was one of them and he won the bronze medal in the 58-kilogram category of his sport, defeating the world champion, Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain. Aside from a congratulatory call from President Karzai, Nikpai’s bronze medal won him a house plus $50,000 from Afghan Olympic Committee officials.
Another war-ravaged nation to win a medal in Beijing was Sudan, often described as “the most unstable country in the world.” It has been plagued by continuous civil war between Northerners and Southerners, and its western region of Darfur is the site of one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent times. This problem still remains, with Sudan’s president facing genocide charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.
Sudan won a silver medal in track and field.
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Even before our athletes came home, the blame game started. Rep. Monico Puentebella, the chief of mission of the Philippine delegation and president of the Weightlifting Association, announced the biggest problem was the lack of funds, pointing the finger at Pagcor for failing to remit to the Philippine Sports Commission its proper share of annual gross income. Of course, Pagcor had its own version of the story.
My own take on the problem is quite simple. If Afghanistan and Sudan can come up with medal winners, there is absolutely no reason why the Philippines cannot do the same.
First, we need new leadership at the top. We have to get rid of all the barnacles and leeches that have made Philippine sports their livelihood and their own private domains. The wonderful plans and programs that are presented after every disaster look good on paper but are useless unless we change the characters who continue to call the shots. By the way, there are some good men around. We just have to get them more involved and give them our support and encouragement.
Second, we need to inject a sense of discipline among our athletes and this requires strong leadership with a no-nonsense attitude. The Koreans have displayed this virtue time and time again. You may think them brusque and abrasive in their manners but they realize that excellence comes from discipline and determination.
Third, we can forget about London and 2012. Our preparations should be for 2016, wherever the Games will then be held. Maybe, just maybe, we shall finally hear the Philippine national anthem being played before a wide audience in recognition of a gold medal won by a Filipino athlete.
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