Fellow Tokyo Olympian Eumir Marcial throws support for embattled EJ Obiena

Published January 05, 2022 12:37 PM By BEA MICALLER,GMA News

Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial has thrown his support for pole vaulter and fellow Tokyo Olympian EJ Obiena, who is currently in an ugly rift with the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) over an alleged misuse of funds.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the 26-year-old pugilist said that even before he copped a bronze medal in the Tokyo Games last year, Obiena had consistently shown his support for him.

And now that Obiena has been dropped from the national team

and is set to face a criminal complaint for estafa to be filed by PATAFA, Marcial said it is only right to rally behind the embattled pole vaulter.

Marcial also asked the public to show its solidarity with Obiena.

"Masakit ito para sa kapwa atleta. Hindi pa lamang nag sisimula ang Tokyo Olympics ipinakita na ni Ej ang kanyang supporta sa akin na kahit alam ko na mayroon din siyang problema. Ngayon ako naman ang susuporta sayo," Marcial said in a heartfelt post.

(As a fellow athlete, this hurts me. Prior to the start of the Tokyo Olympics, EJ had shown me his support even though I knew that he had his own problems at the time. Now, it's my time to show my support for you.)

"With the current issue surrounding my fellow Tokyo 2020 Olympian EJ Obiena, I feel that it is only right as a fellow athlete and Olympian that I express my support and collectively ask to show our solidarity with EJ."

Marcial also aired his frustrations on the decision of PATAFA to drop Obiena from the national team and stressed it invalidated his efforts and sacrifices of nonstop training abroad.

He also stressed that the issue could affect Obiena's training and preparations for upcoming major tournaments like the Vietnam SEA Games and Asian Games, both of which are taking place this year.

"The decision of the PATAFA committee to remove EJ from the national pool, I feel, was some sort of an invalidation of the efforts and sacrifices that EJ has made to bring honor to our country, something that every athlete can strongly relate to," Marcial said.

"This unfortunate situation has affected his focus in his training, costing him so much of his time, energy, and resources instead of pouring all his attention to his preparations for his upcoming season and tournaments."

Like Obiena, Marcial had a feud with his mother federation, the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP), as well as the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) over disagreements about what constitutes sufficient financial support for an Olympic campaign.

"To EJ, know that many of our countrymen are standing beside you in this rather wretched fight. Trust that it will all fall into place and God’s favor will be upon you." — LA, GMA News

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