Five sports kick off Batang Pinoy hostilities
ILOCOS Sur -The best and the brightest young athletes in the country take the limelight as the 2022 Batang Pinoy National Championships kick off at the Quirino Stadium here Saturday.
More than 6,000 athletes 15 years old and below from 140 local government units are expected to attend the traditional opening parade in this week-long event organized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) in cooperation with the Ilocos Sur government.
Hostilities in five sports — archery, badminton, chess, table tennis and swimming — will be held in different venues around Ilocos Sur.
Archery is set at the San Ildefonso Central School, 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.
Eight other sports, namely, arnis, dancesport, judo, karate, muay, pencak silat, taekwondo and wushu will be virtually held via the PSC Facebook and YouTube channels.
Senator Imee Marcos, Ilocos Sur Gov. Jerry Singson, PSC Chairman Noli Eala and Commissioner Olivia “Bong” Coo, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, and silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio will be in attendance during the colorful opening ceremony.
“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,” said Jester Singson, special assistant to the governor in sports.
“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,” said Eala in a press statement
“This is PSC caring for Philippine Sports at all level, like no other,” he added
Eala added that this is aimed to heed the call of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to bring sports closer to every Filipino.
Major supporters of the event are Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Department of Interior and Local Government Unit (DILG), Department of Education (DepED), MILO Philippines, Pocari Sweat Otsuka Solar Philippines, Universal Robina Corporation, Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Globe Telecom, and Beautederm.
