Philippine Olympic golfer Dottie Ardina vented her frustrations over the absence of official uniforms as she and teammate Bianca Pagdanganan improvised through the first three rounds of the Paris Olympics women’s golf competition.
In a video that has made the rounds on social media, Ardina showed the process of sticking a patch of the Philippine flag to her store-bought shirt.
"We’re only ones without [uniforms]. We even needed to buy t-shirts. What kind of Olympics is this?" Ardina said in Filipino.
"Where are our uniforms? Where did it go? We’re the only two [golfers] here, we have 22 athletes, and yet things are still incomplete."
In a joint statement, the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) said the reason why Pagdanganan and Ardina have "dressed down is because their uniforms failed to clear customs in Paris."
Adidas, Paris Olympics official Apparel Sponsor of the Philippine delegation, sent an initial set of apparel for the golf team prior the start of the competition for approval of the IOC. Unfortunately, it was disapproved, hence, the immediate change of golf apparel was sent a week prior to the opening.
Netizens are up in arms, blaming the NGAP and some the POC for the brouhaha, a similar thing first happening in Tokyo 2020 when Juvic Pagunsan and Yuka Saso played without uniforms.
The NGAP had even released a video of its secretary-general Bones Floro to "just focus on the golf," which all the more angered many casual fans of the game. It has since been taken down.
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