OLMIN R. LEYBA, GMANews.TV
06/22/2009 | 10:32 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Traveling to Singapore to compete against 12 other nations at the 1st Asian Youth Games, the Filipino national youth football team now find themselves playing alone after one of the players was found to have A(H1N1).
The team of 17 players, two coaches and one therapist has been quarantined at a resort in Loyang since Friday in accordance with the AYG's A(H1N1) contingency plans.
"The kids are raring to play," the Philippine team's deputy chief of mission and Philippine Football Federation president Mari Martinez told GMANews.TV in a phone interview from Singapore. To stay sharp, the adolescent boys have been working out in isolation.
"It's frustrating for the athletes, matagal nilang pinaghandaan ito but it's beyond our control now. We have to accept that this can happen to anyone," said Philippine Olympic Committee spokesman Joey Romasanta, who is in Manila monitoring the situation in Singapore.
The squad was placed in quarantine – with no visitors allowed, including the players' parents - after one of its players, a 14-year-old boy, tested positive for the pandemic virus. Their scheduled games against Chinese Taipei (June 20) and Iran (June 24) were postponed until further notice.
The rest of the team ultimately tested negative for A(H1N1), according to Martinez. A second player developed a fever and was sent to the hospital for a checkup but Martinez said that after showing no symptoms of A(H1N1), the boy was allowed to rejoin his teammates at the resort on Monday morning.
While waiting for the outcome of Filipino officials' appeal to health authorities and organizers to let their boys join the 12 other nations in the competition, the Filipino players are working out at their beach location.
"The kids keep limbering up all the time at the bungalow they're staying in. They can't be stopped from running," Martinez reported.
"Hindi naman sila nag-taper off even if nasa beach resort sila. hey're still doing conditioning exercise, they're practicing. Ganyan talaga ang mga atleta, hindi sila tumitigil kahit walang ensayo. Given the opportunity, they practice on their own," Romasanta said for his part.
While the Filipinos are limited to practice, their scheduled opponents are already competing.
To monitor the health of their players, Thailand coach Pichai Kongsri and his Laotian counterpart Oudomphet Soutsakhone have ordered preventive measures, including regular temperature checks.
The Hong Kong football team even went to their training session wearing face masks, according to TODAY.
The only team to be quarantined, the RP football crew was assembled from the best 14-and-under players in the country, the bulk coming from Metro Manila, with Visayas and Mindanao also represented. They mostly come from private schools, including Ateneo, Southridge, Marist, FEU and De La Salle Zobel.
To prepare for the inaugural AYG, the squad trained for over a month at the PhilSports complex in Pasig City.
"They want to play and represent the country but were forced to undergo quarantine. They try to keep their morale high, and they're anxious to join the competition," said JJ Soriano, whose son Miel plays forward for the team.
Soriano and other parents who are already in Singapore are just as anxious to see their kids in action. "But we understand the health measures that Singapore is implementing," Soriano said.
The kids' parents were not subjected to the quarantine but Singaporean authorities are making arrangements for them to speak to their children via video conferencing, according to TODAY.
The RP football team was the first to check in for the AYG, which follows the tradition of holding the world's most popular sport ahead of the opening ceremonies.
The rest of the Philippine contingent – representing swimming, athletics, basketball, shooting, table tennis, beach volley, diving and bowling – are set to fly to Singapore in separate batches this week in time for the Games' June 29 opening rites.
Romasanta said the youngsters will go to the Games in high spirits, virtually unfazed by the possible stigma from having one of their teammates affected by A(H1N1).
"Mataas pa rin ang morale nila. You know kids, all they really want and look forward to is to play, mingle with other kids and enjoy the place," the POC spokesman said.
Romasanta dismissed fears that the Filipino kids will be singled out and discriminated upon when they arrive in Singapore.
"Remember, this is a global concern. Singapore nga mismo merong confirmed cases. This should be treated on a case-to-case basis," he said.
Filipino officials headed by Philippine Sports Commission chairman Harry Angping are personally appealing to Singapore's Health and Sports Ministries and the organizing committee to allow the healthy players to compete.
Angping's request, however, could go against the policies of Singapore's Ministry of Health regarding the quarantining of those who had contact with a person infected with the virus.
Under the ministry's Home Quarantine Orders (HQO), those who had close contact with confirmed cases of A(H1N1) "will be placed under quarantine for seven days from the point of their exposure to the virus, either at home or at designated facilities." Those who fail to comply with Singapore's HQO could be fined or even prosecuted.
In the case of the RP football team, the quarantine ends on Friday.
The team is requesting that they be allowed to leave their quarantine on an earlier date so they can play their postponed matches.
But Singapore's health authorities have yet to issue a decision on the Filipinos' request as of 8 p.m. Monday as more confirmed cases of A(H1N1) cropped out in the Games, this time involving three players from Hong Kong.
"It's really up to them (Singapore authorities)," Romasanta said. "They have their health guidelines. Pati sa atin sa DOH may guidelines din sa A(H1N1) that we all have to follow."
And seeking a postponement of the Games altogether is not an option, the POC official said.
"There's no such thing. Kung i-postpone natin yan, wala nang matutuloy na iba pang games," Romasanta said.
The Philippine football squad was actually not the first sports team to be placed in isolation due to A(H1N1). Last week, the Associated Press reported that South Korea quarantined an Australian under-21 lacrosse squad and its coaching staff after one of its members tested positive to swine flu.
The Australians, who were supposed to play against a joint team of Korea, Japan and Hong Kong in an international lacrosse meet, were released after five days in quarantine. - GMANews.TV
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
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