Top of the line facilities will now be available to promising Filipino gymnasts.
Equipment and mats similar to what was used in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were handed recently to the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines’ training center inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Vito Cruz, Manila.
The Japanese government turned over the facilities to the GAP in simple ceremonies, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko and GAP chief Cynthia Carrion.
The mats, balance beams, bars and other gear used by gymnasts were worth around P7 million.
“This is for our grassroots program. We had this project last year,” said Carrion.
The new facilities were proposed by Carlos Yulo’s coach, Munehiro Kugimiya, to the Japanese government last March.
This was after the Manny V. Pangilinan Gymnastics Training Center got finished in Intramuros, Manila to cater to needs of the national team.
The subsidy for the purchase of the equipment was awarded through the Japanese government’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Development Projects.
The agreement was signed at the Japanese Ambassador’s official residence in Makati.
Yulo and Kugimiya were at the inauguration, along with Isabela Rep. Faustino Michael Dy, the chairman of the House Committee on Youth and Sports, along with Kazuhiko and Philippine Olympic Committee deputy secretary general Carl Sambrano.
Former Philippine president and Deputy House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was also around with MVP Sports Foundation Executive Director Jude Turcuato.