Philippine Rowing Olympian Cris Nievarez is now getting a clear picture of the quality of the competitions at the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Games.
According to the 21-year -old Atimonan, Quezon rower, some of the quality rowers will be coming from Asia. Asian rowers are now on par with the powerhouse countries of Europe.
This assessment is based on his experience at the recently held 2021 Asia and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta and other world competitions that he got to observe.
“Kapag Asia, nakakatalo na ‘yan ng European, so parang pag natantsa mo na ‘yung mga Asian rowers gaya ng Japan, Kazakhstan. Alam mo na gaano ka kalayo o kalapit sa European rowers. Napapanood ko na rin sa ibang laro na medyo nakakatalo sila ng ibang countries sa Continental,” Nievarez explained.
The 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist vowed that he will not waste time in achieving his goal to bring home a medal to prove the quality of Filipino rowers in the world scene.
“Pag na-qualify na sa Olympics, sunod na riyan makakuha ng medal. Ang goal ng rowing is patunayan sa lahat na kayang makipagsabayan ng Filipino rowers sa mga matataas na country sa bansa,” the Olympian rower enthused.
Nievarez will be competing in the Men’s Single Scull Event of the quadrennial meet which will be held at the Seaforest Waterways, Tokyo, Japan. – Report by Khay Asuncion/ JBB-rir
Watch this report from Khay Asuncion:
