ANGPING

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will sit down with the heads of the different national sports associations (NSAs) next month to start selecting an initial batch of 50 athletes who will undergo training for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

PSC chairman Harry Angping said that the agency’s monitoring group will evaluate the athletes who saw action in the just-concluded Laos Southeast Asian Games and will hold consultations with their NSAs to find out if they are up to Asian Games standards.

“It will start the process of elimination. We will study the comparative records and see if they will fit Asian Games standard,” Angping said during yesterday’s Christmas party for the athletes at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

“We’ll start with the bronze medal (winners). Some of them have potential. Then from 50 athletes, it will increase as months go by,” Angping said.

Angping added that he will send athletes to compete abroad and provide them with foreign coaches if “they deserve it.”

"That's why we need to talk to the officials. To know what their athletes need in terms of training. If they want to train abroad, fine. If they want foreign coaches, fine. As long as we sit down and study the kind of program that they have for athletes,” Angping said.

In the 2006 Doha Asiad, the country sent 233 athletes and participated in 31 sports where boxing, billiards and combat sports delivered the most number of medals.