Now that Hidilyn Diaz has secured for herself a sponsorship to fuel her quest for the country’s first Olympic gold medal, she can now fully concentrate on her training.
The help came from Davao-based oil company Phoenix Petroleum Philippines and made possible by its sports-loving CEO Dennis Uy, the Dabawenyo businessman who also serves as Presidential Adviser on Sports. His unenviable job is to help develop sports in the country, serving the government without any remuneration. Instead, his company comes to the aid of athletes like Hidilyn and even spearheads a charity for Filipino athletes.
Hidilyn should be grateful there are kind souls out there willing to join her in her journey.
The trouble started when the weightlifting silver medalist in the 2016 Rio Olympics, via her social media account, lamented the lack of financial support and was begging for sponsorships to fund her Olympic drive for the 2020 Olympiad in Tokyo. This, despite her already huge allowance from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). It was said that Hidilyn has the biggest allowance from among elite national athletes under the PSC payroll. She received P5 million for winning a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics and P6 million for winning a gold medal in the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018.
Hidilyn’s issues go beyond her lament of lack of financial support. It was clouded further by her reported request for the PSC to hire her boyfriend as her strength and conditioning coach. The weightlifting star’s PSC allowance is on top of her compensation as an enlisted personnel of the Philippine Air Force.
How she suddenly became disgruntled was beyond reason.
Still, she got what she wanted.
With Phoenix’s P2-million sponsorship, she is now liberated from her woes of “financial distress” — real or imaginary. Now, it’s her time to shape up and focus on the competitions, brush off the distractions and keep her eyes on the prize. And yes, step aside BF.
