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 sports
 
Tamang Tañamor
    Sapul pa nung pagkabata ay sapul na ng mga kamao ni Harry Tañamor ang mga nakakasuntukan niya. Itong lakas ng kamao ng kaliweteng taga-Zamboanga City ang naghatid sa kanya sa ibabaw ng ring.
    Nagsimula siyang mag-boksing noong 1995, habang siya ay nag-aaral sa Zamboanga City High. Ang panglima sa siyam na anak ni Conrado at Lilia Tañamor ay lumahok at nanalo sa Palarong Pambansa hanggang sa kunin siyang boksingero ng Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP).
    Hindi naman nabigo ang ABAP sa pagpili sa kanya. Tama rin ang pasya ni Harry na maging pambansang boksingero. Binigyan niya ng karangalan ang Pilipinas at sinalba pa niya sa kahihiyan ang ABAP nang tanging siya lamang sa mga boksingerong Pilipino ang nagwagi ng medalya sa katatapos na Asian Games sa Busan, South Korea.
 
Harry Tañamor
 
   
    May taas na limang talampakan at limang pulgada, isa-isang tinalo ni Harry ang kalabang taga-Myanmar, Tsina, Indiya at Thailand upang marating ang pangkampeyonatong laban sa light flyweight (48 kilo) na dibisyon. Ngunit di niya nakamit ang gintong medlayang nang talunin siya ng kalabang Koreano sa desisyon.
    Napaulat na sariling kamao ang naging sanhi ng pagkatalo niya. Sa unang laban pa lang ay nasaktan na ni Harry ang kanyang kanang kamay at ininda niya ang pamamaga nito hanggang sa huling laban niya para sa gintong medalya. Dahil sa namamagang kanang kamay, hindi niya nakayanang patumbahin ang Koreano.
    Ngunit hindi tanggap ni Tañamor na tinalo siya. Ayon sa kanya, simula pa lang ng laban ay halos bumigay na ang Koreano kaya kampante ang panig ng Pilipinas sapagkat alam nilang lamang sila sa punto.
    “Talo talaga sa akin iyung Koreano kaso sumakit iyung kamay ko pagtama sa ulo niya,” sabi ni Harry. “Nadaya lamang tayo. Gusto ko talaga siyang pabagsakin para malinis ang pagkapanalo natin. Kaso magulang na, humahawak pa. Hometown decision ang nangyari,” sabi ni Harry.
    Hindi daw talaga uubra ang Koreano. Kung tutuusin, mas nahirapan pa siya sa kalabang Tsino at Indyan kaysa sa Koryano. Ang pinaka-malakas daw na nakaharap niya ay ang Thai.
    Sa ngayon, magaling na ang kanang kamao ni Harry. Tanggap na rin niya ang kinahinatnan ng labang iyon. Ngunit sa isip at damdamin ni Harry at ng buong sambayanan, siya pa rin ang kampeon.
    Pinagtutuunan ng pansin ni Harry ngayon ang paghahanda sa Southeast Asian Games. Araw-araw siyang nag-eensayo. Jogging at ehersisyo sa umaga at hapon. Nagsya-shadow boxing siya, skipping rope at sparring. Nais niyang mapanalunan ang gintong medalya para sa bansa. Sa allowance na P8,000 kada buwan, sinisiguro ni Harry na masusuklian niya ang suporta at tiwala ng gobyerno sa kanya.
    Ninais na niyang sumabak na sa professional boxing noon subalit nagbago ang isip niya. “Nag-e-enjoy pa ako sa amateur at baka kailanganin pa ako ng bansa eh,” sagot ni Harry.
    Bukod sa pagbo-boksing, ang 24-anyos na si Harry ay kasapi ng Hukbong Sandatahan ng Pilipinas mula pa noong taon 2000. Siya ay may ranggong Private First Class.
    Ang nangyari kay Tañamor sa kamay ng Koryano sa Busan Asian Games ay tulad ng pagdaya ng Koryano din kay Onyok Velasco sa Olympic Games noong 1998. Subalit hindi dito nagtatapos ang karera ni Harry sa larangan ng boksing. Alam niyang maka-kaharap niyang muli ang Koryano at sa pagkakataong ito, titiyakin ni Harry na hahalik muna siya sa kanyang matitigas na kamao bago sa ring. Ipatitikim niya sa kalaban ang tamang Tañamor.
 
Shotgun marriage
    World-renowned sharpshooter Jethro T. Dionisio has gotten tired of stationary shooting and has divorced his pistol. He is now into trap shooting and is engaged to a shotgun.
    “Medyo nababagalan na kase ako sa precision shooting eh kaya nag-iba naman ako,” the 30-year-old Jethro said.
    The affair has bore fruit: a bronze medal in the Busan Asian Games.
    Jethro scored 117 out of 125 shots, a total of eight missed to salvage third place, in the trap shooting event.
    In trap shooting, the shooter shoots claybirds thrown to the air. Each thrown claybird, which has a diameter and thickness of four inches, moves at 75 miles per hour.
    Jethro considers the feat as his best performance so far in the single shotgun event.
    He admitted feeling nervous at first. But he was able to deliver despite the tension.
 
Jethro Dionisio
 
   
    Together with Jimmy Recio and Eric Ang, he also won a bronze medal in the team trap shooting.
    Thanks to his 30-inch barrel, 12-gauge, two-round cap Perazzi. The Italian-made shotgun can find its target at a range of 50 yards. The right gun for the right man. Perfect combination.
    After the smoke of the Busan gun battle cleared, Jethro immediately went back to the country and brought his prize to his wife Kathryn, 29, who just gave birth to their second child at St. Luke’s Hospital. They named the newborn Kelsy Zette. Their eldest daughter is two-year-old Kierstenn Zette.
    Jethro is now conditioning his mind and body for the coming Southeast Asian Games. “As early as now, I’m preparing na for the coming event. I do physical fitness, I jog, I play badminton to condition,” he said.
 
‘Ghost’ boxers, real heroes
      Wu Shu is an unpopular sport to Filipinos so the two silver medals earned by two Ilocanos in this event in the Busan Asian Games went unnoticed. In fact, not even the names of Wu Shu Sanshou (full contact kickboxing) fighters Marvin Sicomen, 21, and Rexel Nganhayna, 23, will ring a bell to ordinary Pinoy, except to their coaches and teammates.
    Despite their ghostly image, Sicomen and Nganhayna are real heroes. In Busan, Marvin of La Trini-dad, Benguet defeated Wu Shu Sanshou fighters from Kyrgystan, Yemen and Laos before bowing to a Chinese in the finals of the
Marvin Sicomen (left) and Rexel Nganhayna.
 
   
52-kilo division. Rexel of Baguio City eliminated Indonesian, Vietnamese and Mongolian opponents before losing the gold to a Thai in the 56-kg category.
    They came. They fought. They struggle. They won...and lost. They did their best. Their determination earned them the glorious silver medals, a feat that is quite impossible to achieve in a very competitive sports contest like the Asian Games. They brought honor to the Philippines.
    Despite the lack of recognition, Marvin and Rexel got consolation in the form of cash incentives worth close to a million pesos. The incentive is really be a big help for them and their families. Rexel’s parents were able to start a piggery business because of the money he earned from winning Wu Shu competitions.
    Marvin, who is the 4th of nine siblings, plans to use his cash prize to help his parents, whose only source of income is planting Chrysanthemum.
    Marvin and Rexel resumed practice this time aiming to capture gold medals in next year’s Southeast Asian. They are back in trai-ning from where they started their career, at the condemned Eva building at 239 Juan Luna St., Binondo, Manila.
    It was in this building that Wu Shu Sanshou national coach Yu Zhi Po, taught them this martial arts, which originated in China centuries ago.
 
 
 
Outside the hardcourt
    I had the great and exciting experience of covering the recently concluded Busan Asian Games in South Korea. I’m sure Pinoys working in that part of Asia know how scenic the place is. I saw a lot of interesting places. But one of the things that caught my eye was the Athletes’ Village, home to our athletes in the 14th Asiad.
    Constructed on an 115,100 square-meter lot in a convenient location, the Athelete’s Village housed over 13,000 athletes and officials all over Asia. It had 20 apartment-style buildings with 2,290 units.
    I went around the site and saw that the place, though huge, was not yet finished. The foundations were constructed, but there was hardly any furnishing inside. Flooring was still raw, as well as the walls and ceilings. Nonetheless, the facilities were there.
    There are many facilities to meet athletes’ needs. Scattered within the village are a bank, a photo shop, a laundry shop and even a tailor shop in a vacant elementary school nearby.
    For leisure, athletes can go to the coffee shop, discotheque, Internet plaza, and lounge. There is a small shopping area selling different native products of Korea. Korean fans, Korean dolls and masks were what I found interesting.
 
The author at the Athletes Village
 
   
    There’s also a Nike booth that sold apparel, shoes and accessories such as bags; and a convenience store where one can buy snacks and toiletries.
    An interesting area of the school was the Game Room. Here, athletes played video games. I saw a Dance Rev machine! It’s like Timezone, with Korean flair. I noticed that aside from Koreans and Japanese, players from Qatar and the Mid East countries enjoyed playing video games.
    There’s a Video Viewing Room, an Art Studio and even a Karaoke Room too!
    For those who wonder where Asi Taulava and Andy Seigle got their haircut, it’s at the Barber/Beauty Salon Room.
    Aside from training everyday and visiting the barber, what else did our ballers do in the village? Jeff Cariaso and some of the players lifted weights in the Sports Center daily for 1-2 hours.
    Food was served at the cafeteria all day where security was very strict.
    Andy Seigle said he was starting to look like a Korean because of all the Korean food served every time he eats there. Luckily for them, they brought canned goods from Purefoods when they left Manila. So, whenever they got sick of Korean food, there were the old reliables - pork and beans, sausage, corned beef and chili con carne anytime, any day. And for Pinoy fiesta flavor, there’s even paksiw na lechon. Yummy!
    This is definitely one of the experiences I would treasure, long after the memory of the Asian Games fades. The players tasked with bringing home the bacon from the quadrennial meet are back in Manila. Some have sad stories. Others, like the basketball team, have bittersweet tales; while a few came back with glory and pride with their medals.
    Busan, for its part, is back to normal operations. What was once the Athletes’ Village is now an area with pre-sold housing units for middle-class Koreans. That’s smart planning for you — dual purpose for the structures built for the Asiad. I wonder if the Philippines could pull-off something like that.
 
 
 
 
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