National Surfers Gun tickets to Tokyo in El Salvador
Six Filipinos ride the country’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games Triumph Ridge, competing for the Tokyo Olympics slot machines from Saturday at the International Association’s World Surfing Games surf 2021 in El Salvador.
As surfing makes its Olympic debut, John Mark Tokong, Rogelio Esquivel, Edito Alcala, Nilbie Blancada, Daisy Valdez and Vea Estrellado are looking to qualify through the week-long encounter with surfers from 53 nations.
Head coach Ian Saguan said the country mainly competes with Indonesia for places available for the region after Vietnam and Malaysia withdrew.
At the 2019 SEA Games, the Philippines won two gold and two silver, while Indonesia won two gold and one silver.
Blancada competes in the women’s longboard where she won gold at the SEA Games organized by the country.
“It’s hard to make predictions because no two waves are the same,” Saguan told Radyo Pilipinas in Filipino. “So it’s a bit of luck depending on the waves that come their way and their performance on the day of the competition.”
The team has been in El Salvador since May 17 to test the waters of La Bocana and El Sunzal. “All I can say is all of our surfers are ready and able to win slots in Tokyo,” said Saguan.
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