Metro Manila, Philippines – Boxer Aira Villegas and weightlifter Albert Ian delos Santos will be carrying the Philippine flag at the opening ceremony of the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino announced the flag bearers on Thursday, Sept. 10, at the Team Philippines’ official send-off event held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.
The 31-year-old Villegas bagged the bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics and nabbed another bronze in the Southeast Asian Games last year in Thailand.
Delos Santos, meanwhile, is a record holder at the IWF World Junior Championships. He recently captured three gold medals at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Uzbekistan.
The government is throwing its full support behind the national team, granting an additional ₱6,000 allowance for every athlete and coach participating in the quadrennial meet.
The 20th Asian Games will officially begin on Sept. 19 and will run until Oct. 4.
