ILOCOS SUR — Baguio City sets its sights on a third straight overall championship as the Philippine Sports Commission-Batang Pinoy National Championships gets off the wraps Saturday.
Looking to extend their reign in the return of the multi-sports meet for young Filipino athletes aged 15 years old and below after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the two-time champions brace for tough competition against promising sports talents coming from 139 other local government units.
“We’re coming into the return of Batang Pinoy with high hopes of making a three-peat. Hopefully, we’ll be able to achieve our goal,” Baguio City Sports Development Officer IV Gaudencio “Gudz” Gonzales said.
Baguio City, which ruled the 2018 edition it hosted and the 2019 meet in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, is fielding 148 athletes in face-to-face sports and 170 in virtual events.
About 6,000 in and out-of-school youth athletes will battle in nine in-person events and eight virtual competitions.
Kicking off the hostilities are archery, badminton, chess, table tennis and medal-rich swimming in different venues distributed to various Ilocos Sur cities and municipalities.
Archery is set at the San Ildefonso Central School grounds, badminton at the Ilocos Sur Badminton Center and Vigan Convention Center, chess at the Baluarte Function Hall, table tennis at the San Vicente Gym and swimming at the Quirino Stadium pool in Bantay.
Meanwhile, Olympians led by no less than Tokyo Olympics silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio will grace the opening ceremony slated to begin at 3 p.m. at the Quirino Stadium in the municipality of Bantay.
Joining them are fellow national elite athletes, Olympic judoka Kiyomi Watanabe, SEA Games gold medalists Chloe Isleta and Mary Allin Aldeguer.
Also gracing the opening rites are Senator Imee Marcos, host province Ilocos Sur Governor Jeremias “Jerry” Singson, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Philippine Sports Commission chair Noli Eala and commissioner Olivia “Bong” Coo, as well as chiefs and officials of various national sports associations.
“We’re very much excited about staging this event because we are fully prepared. We’ve been working on our hosting duties since July,” Jester Singson, special assistant to the governor in sports, said.
“The goal of Gov. Singson is to show to the whole country, not just the province and Region I, that Ilocos Sur tourism is now fully open to business,” he added.
While action unfolds today, medals will start to be contested starting Sunday in centerpiece athletics at the Quirino grounds, archery, cycling starting and ending at the Provincial Capitol in Vigan and weightlifting at the Caoayan Gym.
Obstacle sports, a demo sport in this edition, will start Monday at the Sta. Catalina Gym.
Online events in arnis, dancesport, judo, karate, muay, pencak silat, taekwondo and wushu will be streamed on the PSC’s Facebook and YouTube platforms.
“The Batang Pinoy program has already produced numerous champions in various sports since it started in 1999. I am sure that the stories of our bemedaled athletes will inspire our young athletes who will be competing in Ilocos Sur, to reach the height they have achieved,” Eala said.
Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz and world gymnastics champion Caloy Yulo are products of Batang Pinoy.