The Philippine Team intends to defend its turf and reclaim lost glory when it competes for the overall championship in the upcoming World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (Wekaf) 12th World Championships starting tomorrow at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City.
This message was stated by Wekaf president Gerald Canete yesterday during a press conference at the Golden Peak Hotel.
Canete was joined by Wekaf Chairman Emeritus and Supreme Grandmaster Dionisio “Diony” Cañete and delegates from the countries that are participating in this prestigious event.
“We have the homecourt advantage so we have a very good chance of winning the overall crown,” said Canete. “We have around 120 stick fighters from Manila, Cebu and Mindanao who will represent the Philippines in this competition. They’ve been training really hard every morning and every evening. We have new blood and new faces and I believe that this will be a very good tournament for them.”
USA OUT TO SPOIL PH TEAM’S PLAN
But the reigning champions United States, which won the title by just a mere gold medal when the Philippines last hosted this tournament, had something to say about the plans of the Philippine team.
“The fighters who are coming here are very eager to compete and they’re coming here to win,” said Anton Lucero, himself a former world champion in this sport. “They’re going to do their very best to win. They’re coming to play very hard.”
According to the older Canete, the USA will be bringing over a strong contingent composed of 80 fighters.
The events that will be competed in are the single stick sparring, the double stick sparring, the padded foam sparring and the forms competition.
Overall, there will be 95 gold medals that will be at stake.
The other contending nations include France, Oman, Iran, Scotland, Ireland, England, Spain, Puerto Rico, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Hong Kong, Hungary, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Greece, South Korea, Vietnam, Sweden, Poland, Portugal, South Africa and Indonesia.
Aside from the competition, Wekaf will also have a free medical-dental mission at the Mountain Training Park in barangay Malubog. The event is being called Wekaf Cares.