Take it from Team Lakay founder and coach Mark Sangiao: there’s really nothing quite like representing the country.
And as 22 of our proud athletes head to France for Paris 2024, the decorated mentor expects another memorable performance from the Philippine delegation.
“Very confident ako sa ipapakita ng mga atleta natin. Di man natin masasabing makakasabay tayo sa mga powerhouse countries sa sports pero hindi naman tayo sobrang behind,” he said.
Sangiao, also serving as a national team coach for kickboxing, attributed this morale boost from Hidilyn Diaz ending the country’s long elusive search for gold in Tokyo 2020 as a big reason for this renaissance of sorts for Philippine sports.
“It opened the door of possibilities sa mga coaches and athletes na kaya pala at pwede pala, na kahit minsan, we complain about lack of financial resources and support, pero ito ang evidence na we can compete and win medals,” he said.
It’s really a promising position to be in, and you can’t fault Sangiao for having high expectations for our Filipino athletes.
But regardless of the performance of Team Philippines in Paris 2024, the mentor also believes that these warriors are in a position to inspire more kids to take up sports in hopes of delivering more medals to the country in the future.
“I really hope that many of our Olympic athletes will get a chance to step on the podium and hopeful din ako na they can inspire para someday, we will have more athletes there with ample support from the government and the private sector,” he stated.
To close, Sangiao has a message for those Philippine Olympians: “Do your best and show the world how Filipino athletes do it.”
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