PACQUIAO SA PARIS OLYMPICS IBINASURA NG IOC

HINDI pinayagan si boxing icon Manny Pacquiao na sumabak sa  Paris Olympics dahil ang dating eight-division world professional champion ay overaged.

Binigyang-diin ng International Olympic Committee (IOC), bilang tugon sa liham ni Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) noong nakaraang taon na nakikiusap sa paglahok ng dating senador sa Paris, ang 40-year-old age limit para sa mga atletang sasabak sa Olympics. Si Pacquiao ay 45-anyos na.

Kung pasok naman si  Pacquiao sa age regulation, ang kanyang posibleng qualification para sa Olympics ay sa pamamagitan ng qualifiers, isa rito ay ang Asian Games noong nakaraang taon kung saan nakopo ni Eumir Felix Marcial ang light heavyweight clinching silver sa Hangzhou.

“Too bad our beloved boxing icon is disqualified because of his age and that everyone needs to go through qualifiers, in all sports, to be able to participate in Paris,” wika ni POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

Sinulatan ni James McLeod, IOC Director for National Olympic Committee Relations, ang POC sa kahilingan nito na makalaban si Pacquiao sa Paris.

“The only valid boxing qualification system for Paris 2024 is the one approved by the IOC Executive Board in September 2022 published and distributed to NOCs and boxing national federations on 6 December 2022,” sabi ni McLeod sa kanyang liham.

“This includes the age limit of 40,” ani McLeod.

Hindi rin makakapasok si Pacquiao sa Paris sa ilalim ng Universality rule.

“The Universality places for the Olympic Games will not be allocated to NOCs with an average of more than eight [08] athletes in individual sports/disciplines at the last two editions of the Olympic Games [Rio and Tokyo],” dagdag ni Mcleod.

Ang Pilipinas ay may 17 atleta sa  Tokyo— pawang sa individual sports— kung saan nasungkit ni Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo ang unang Olympic gold medal ng bansa at naiuwi nina Carlo Paalam at Nesthy Petecio ang silver medals habang naka-bronze si Marcial sa boxing.

Sa kasalukuyan ay apat na Pinoy na ang nagkuwalipika sa  Paris—world No. 2 pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena, Marcial at  artistic gymnasts Carlos Yulo at Aleah Finnegan.