RP Greco-Roman bets shown exit door in Asian jr. wrestling tilt

MANILA, Philippines – All three bets from host Philippines in the Greco-Roman event of the 2009 Asian Juniors Wrestling Championships were shown the exit door after losing their matches in their respective divisions. Robertson Tubosa even squandered his bronze medal chances after losing to Indian Rupender Punia in the repechage of the 96-kilogram division at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. The 20-year-old wrestler from Zamboanga City, who also lost to Iran’s Ghorbanigholdaste Babak in an earlier match, just don’t have the weapon and heart to overcome his Indian foe in the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)-supported tournament. “I did my best. But my opponent is just too strong," said Tubosa. The Philippines’ Excel Tubog and Roxel Jandog also suffered the same fate. Tubog failed to hurdle past Japan’s Nakano Tomoaki and was eliminated in the first round of their 55kg match while Landog bowed to Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) rival Doi Dang Quang of Vietnam. RP team coach Melchor Tumasis said that the lack of international competitions is the result of the Filipinos’ early exit in the tournament. “We can beat these foreigners. But we need to compete abroad before our wrestlers can be at par with their counterparts," said Tumasis Tumasis, a gold medalist in the 1997 Jakarta and 2003 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, noted that Vietnam improved with its program since their athletes regularly join international competitions. – Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV