Phikippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (front, third from left) and Philippine Sports Commission commissioner Edward Hayco (front, second from left) lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony with (front, from left) Cavite Vice Governor Athena Tolentino and Tagaytay City Vice Mayor Agnes Tolentino, DMD, as well as combat sports officials (rear, from left) Alvin Aguilar (president, wrestling), Jose Malonzo (secretary-general, Vovinam), Alexander Sulit (president, judo), Tongson Rene (secretary-general, arnis), Ferdie Agustin (president, jiu-jitsu) and Atty. Wharton Chan (secretary-general, kickboxing).
Tagaytay City Combat Sports Center inaugurated
A HOME for combat sports in the country.
This is what Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino envisions as he formally led the inauguration ceremony for the Tagaytay City Combat Sports Center last Thursday.
Tolentino, also the Tagaytay City mayor, said the former Tagaytay City multi- purpose arena was fully rehabilitated and turned into a modern combat sports center.
The dome-shaped center located near the Tagaytay City BMX Park will cater to martial arts and other combat sports such as arnis, boxing, jiu-jitsu, karate, kickboxing, muay thai, taekwondo, vovinam and wrestling.
“I am happy to announce that, I think, we’re the first LGU (local government unit) to have a combat sports facility like this one,” said Tolentino, who is also cycling federation president.
“Tagaytay will not only be known as the country’s cycling hub, but also the country’s combat sports capital,” said Tolentino, who also encouraged combat sports officials to bid for international competitions.
He said Tagaytay City has facilities, including hotels and restaurants, needed for major sporting events.
Tolentino also said the country’s first indoor and wooden velodrome would rise very soon next to the combat center, while an athletes’ dormitory and hotel will be constructed in the same area known locally as the Tagaytay City Atrium.
Among the sports officials present during the inauguration ceremony were Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) commissioner Edward Hayco, who represented chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann; Alvin Aguilar of wrestling, Jose Malonzo of vovinam, Alexander Sulit of judo, Rene Tongson of arnis, Ferdie Agustin of jiu-jitsu and lawyer Wharton Chan of kickboxing.
Cavite Vice Governor Athena Tolentino and Tagaytay City Vice Mayor Agnes Tolentino were also in attendance.
National combat sports athletes who won medals in the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia entertained the packed crowd with demonstrations of their respective sports.
