Curling medal encourages Olympic dreams among diaspora Filipinos
The Philippine team won the country's first-ever gold at the Asian Winter Games currently underway in Harbin (China), and now aim for a spot at Milano-Cortina 2026. Its members live in Switzerland, the United States and Canada. For the Philippine Olympic Committee, this is the best result for Southeast Asia.
Rome (AsiaNews/Agencies) – With a historic 5-3 victory over South Korea in the men's curling final, the Philippines won it first gold medal at the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province (China). For the Southeast Asian country, this is its sixth participation in the games.
This unexpected feat at the Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena was made by a team of Filipinos living in the United States, Canada and Switzerland, whose success has been greeted with great enthusiasm in their homeland, nurturing the dream of a spot at the Milano-Cortina Olympics (Italy) in 2026.
The six gold medallists are Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and Benjo Delarmente, all children of Filipinos living in the diaspora.
“This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible accomplishment!” the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) said in a statement.
The Curling Winter Sports Association of the Philippines (CWSAP), commonly known as Curling Pilipinas, was accepted as a member of the World Curling Federation in September 2023, along with Pakistan and Puerto Rico, and started a bid to qualify for the 2026 Olympics.
Beyond qualification, the victory is important for what it represents for the large community of Filipinos abroad, especially for binationals who love this sport. Filipinos living abroad can gather around curling to represent the country and strengthen their identity.
For CWSAP President Benjo Delarmente, creating a structured network around this sport in the Philippines itself is now a possibility,
Curling also “really allows diasporic athletes to really embrace that [homeland] side of their identity,” he explained as was the case for the men's team, which is based in Switzerland.
The Philippine team was recently promoted to the first division of the Pan-Continental Curling Championship.
Now the wait is for a call-up to go to the qualifying stages next September for the Milano-Cortina Games, which now seem within reach.
.png)
09/08/2021 12:47
