The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) appeals against the removal of weightlifting, wushu, jiu-jitsu, and karate in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
"It’s not only the Philippines which appealed, but a majority of the games’ members,” said POC president Abraham Tolentino, who attended the SEA Games Federation meeting in Bangkok over the weekend.
During the 2023 SEA Games held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Philippines won a total of eight gold medals in the said sports events: three in jiu-jitsu, two in karate, two in weightlifting, and one in wushu.
"We will lose a lot of gold medals if the appeal won’t be granted," Tolentino stressed.
The Philippines plans to compete in all of the 40 medal sports in the upcoming 33rd SEA Games that will run from December 9 to December 20, 2025.
However, the country will not participate in the demonstration sports tug of war and flying disc or frisbee.
