Pinoys to compete in World Muay Thai Championships
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 19 Jun 2011
Eight veteran Muay aces, six in the men?s division and two in the distaff side have been chosen to represent the Philippines in the 2011 World Muaythai Championships set Sept. 20-27 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Headed by 2008 World Championship silver medallist Jay Harold Gregorio and 2009 Laos Southeast Asian Games gold medal winner Zaidi Larvan, the national squad will be trying to at least repeat the four gold medal haul their predecessors brought home in the previous editions of the world tourney.
Baguio City boy Brent Velasco and Roland Claro had stashed away a pair of gold medals each in separate stints in the World Championships with the former doing the trick in the 2002 and 2004 editions, while the latter in the 2004 and 2008 staging.
National coach Billie Alumno, himself a veteran internationalist during his prime, having won the country?s lone gold medal in the 2005 Asian Indoor Games, said during Friday?s SCOOP Sa Kamayan weekly session that this year?s squad has what it takes to duplicate Velasco?s and Claro feats.
?Besides having a taste of international competitions, this team will undergo at least a three-month training in Bangkok from July to September before proceeding to the World Championships, ? Alumno told members of the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines in the public service forum, sponsored by Coca Cola Bottlers Philippines, FILA and TV-5.
Gregorio, competing in the 67-kilkogram division, and Larvan, a 60-kg. campaigner, will be joined in the team by Jonathan Polosan (63.5-Kg), Benedict Alumno (54-kg.), Ryan Jakieri (57-kg) and Robin Catalan (48-kg), in the men?s competition.
May Libao, bronze medalist in the 48-kg. in 2009 SEA Games, and Preciosa Ocaya, another bronze winner in the 51-kg. class in 2009, made it in the women?s team.
?Sayang at walang muay in the coming SEA Games, sana malaki ang tsansa na makapag-uwi ng maraming medalya ang mga bata natin,? the coach said.
Polosan took home the gold medal in his category in the 2008 Prince Cup in Thailand, while Alumno, Jakiri and Catalan ruled their respective division in the recent Philippine National Games.
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