Aguilar blasts exclusion of wrestling from SEAG
By Josef T. Ramos
WRESTLING Association of the Philippines (WAP) President Alvin Aguilar expressed his ire against the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) for taking wrestling out of the featured sports in the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) that the Philippines will host from November 31 to December 11.
Aguilar said he received a letter signed by Phisgoc Chief Operating Officer Ramon Suzara last August 26, stating that WAP did not secure authorization from the international and Asian federations of wrestling as required by the SEA Games Federation Charter.
Aguilar blamed the mishap on Phisgoc Executive Director Tom Carrasco.
“Carrasco is sabotaging us,” Aguilar, the founder of Universal Reality Combat Championship and hailed as the Father of Philippine Mixed Martial Arts, told The Manila Times in Filipino in a phone interview on Friday.
“I already informed him as early as June 10 what wrestling events should be featured in the SEAG, but he paid no attention. The WAP even wrote him a letter about these events last January.”
Aguilar said the Philippines has the potential to win a minimum of 20 gold medals in the original 25 events he proposed. Phisgoc reduced the list to 14 before deciding to scrap wrestling.
“We already submitted the list of events and the Southeast Asian nations were in agreement with it. What he (Carrasco) did was he removed most events — like grappling, wherein we have a strong chance of winning. Instead, he put some weight classes wherein we’re not strong.”
But Carrasco said the technical delegate of the United World of Wrestling did not sign the wrestling events handbook, which is a mandatory requirement by the SEA Games federation.
“Final na ‘yan unless pumirma ‘yung technical delegate ng IF (international federation) nila sa handbook which is a mandatory requirement, we will reconsider naman (It’s final unless the technical delegate of their IF signs the handbook, which is a mandatory requirement. If that’s the case, we will reconsider),” said Carrasco in a separate interview.
“Lahat ng 56 sports [federations] pumirma, tapos ‘yung kanila ayaw (All 56 sports federations signed but theirs did not want to).”
Aguilar belied Carrasco’s claim that they did not follow the requirement of the SEA Games Federation Charter.
He said the United World of Wrestling, through its vice president Kittiposh Vangsan of Thailand, in June submitted all requirements, including the technical handbook, to Phisgoc but Carrasco did not accept them.
“Kailangan daw may endorsement ng president (We are told that an endorsement of the president is required. But he (Carrasco) never talked to our IF.”
Aguilar said they would fight all the way to make sure wrestling, which is man’s oldest sport, is included in the SEAG.
“It is very sad that our fellow Filipinos are denying our country a chance to win gold medals through wrestling,” Aguilar said, adding that Philippine wrestlers won 35 gold medals in the last edition of the biennial meet.