RP athletes head to Macau for 2nd Asian Indoor Games

Most of the 79 athletes in a 117-member Philippine delegation have left for Macau to take part in the 2nd Asian Indoor Games which starts on Friday (October 26) in that former Portuguese colony. According to a statement from the delegation Wednesday, the athletes left via Hong Kong, while several sports officials and eight chess players are scheduled to leave early Thursday morning. The opening ceremonies on Friday start at 8 pm at the 17,000-seater Macau Stadium. The Macau Indoor Games, serving as one of the final tune-ups for Filipino athletes competing in the Thailand SEA Games, follows the theme of "Harmonious society and fun," with athletes from 45 nations competing in 15 events. The Philippines has entries in aerobic gymnastics (6), bowling (8), chess (8), dance sport (12), sports climbing (4), swimming (6), futsal (14), hoop sepaktakraw (5), muay thai (5), kickboxing (3) and 3-on-3 basketball (4). The other sports, for which the Philippines has no entry, include cue sports, dragon and lion dance, electronic sports (E-Sports), indoor cycling, and indoor hockey. Kickboxing and 3-on-3 basketball are demonstration sports. Richie Garcia of the Philippine Sports Commission acts as chief-of-mission of the delegation with Red Dumuk as his assistant. Bowler Markwin Tee, gold medalist in the Manila Southeast Asian Games, was elected flag bearer for Team Philippines. The Philippine flag, along with those of Nepal and Mongolia, will be raised at 10 am, also on Friday, at the Plaza of Sai Van Lake. Macau has built and refurbished numerous international standard venues for this event, which was conceptualized by members of the Olympic Council of Asia in 2001 and approved by its majority in Busan, South Korea, the following year. Venues on tap are the Workers Pavilion (aerobic gymnastics), Macau Bowling Centre (bowling), Macau International Shooting Range (chess), International Convention Centre (cue sports), Macau Forum (dance sport, dragon and lion dance), Macau East Asian Games Dome (indoor athletics, muay thai, electronic sports, kickboxing), MUST Pavilion (extreme sports), Macau Olympic Aquatic Centre (fin swimming, short-course swimming), Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion and IPM Multisport Pavilion (futsal), Luso-Chinese School Pavilion (indoor cycling), and the Macau Stadium (indoor hockey). - GMANews.TV