The Philippines’ sepak takraw team will be under immense pressure when they compete at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan later this month. That’s because the Pilipinas Sepaktakraw Association Inc. (PSTAI) has given an ultimatum: win a medal or resign.
No less than PSTAI president Karen Tanchanco‑Caballero disclosed this ultimatum, which she says is an agreement she had with the sepak takraw squad.
“I’d like to share that there is already a courtesy resignation on all athletes if they do not come home with a medal,” Caballero bared during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday at the Philippine Sports Commission media room. “Ready sila. Handa rin sila because they have to give way din. I mean, we have given them all the support they needed for so many years. So, it’s only fair for the Filipino taxpayers who pay for their allowances and support. Kumbaga, we only expect the best performance from our athletes and coaches.”
It’s a fair point, but it could also be counterproductive as it essentially puts the athletes involved under even greater scrutiny.
Sepak Takraw Team Is Ready
While Caballero put her team on the spotlight with her revelation, she maintains that the athletes are actually very ready to show out in Nagoya. This confidence stems from the sepak takraw team’s fine performance in the recent ISTAF World Sepaktakraw Championship—39th Thai King’s Cup in Bangkok, where the men’s regu team (3‑on‑3) bagged a historic silver medal and the women’s quadrant (4‑on‑4) copped bronze.
There’s also encouraging precedent. Three years ago, in the Hangzhou Asian Games, the sepak takraw team landed its first podium finish in 33 years after bagging bronze medals in the men’s regu and the men’s quadrant. The team has also been deep in training ahead of the Nagoya meet, and it’s yet another reason Caballero is high on the country’s chances of winning medals in the sport.
“They are ready. They have extensively prepared for this, and I’m confident naman sa preparations ng ating coaching team,” she explained. “It’s the same challenge presented to them by the NSA during the King’s Cup. They come home with no medal, no one’s going to the Asian Games. Simply because if you can’t beat anybody in the World Cup, wala rin kayong tatalunin sa Asiad. We are not going to be tourists when we go to Japan. We mean business.”
Those are fighting words, indeed, from Caballero. The hope now is that the sepak takraw team, led by Jom Lerry Rafael, Jason Huerte, and Reynaldo Asilum, can deliver the goods.
Otherwise, they’re gone.
