MANILA - Margielyn Didal can continue to prepare for upcoming Olympic qualifying competitions, after Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) officer-in-charge Ramon Fernandez arranged for her to train in Lapu-Lapu City.

While her hometown of Cebu City remains under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Lapu-Lapu City is now under general community quarantine (GCQ).

Speaking on the PSC Chatroom on Friday, Fernandez assured that he remains in contact with Didal, who is one of the country's hopefuls for the Tokyo Olympics next year.

"She's already given me her schedule," Fernandez said. "She will be practicing MWF (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays), and we've chosen the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City."

"They have a skate park beside the coliseum," he explained.

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The skate park, which was opened in 2014, will be Didal's training ground for five hours each day. She will be given a police escort to and from the arena, said Fernandez.

Fernandez has already requested passes for Didal from Director General Albert Ferro of the Philippine National Police Region 7, and he also coordinated with the local government in the city.

"They gladly accommodate her to be able to practice there," Fernandez said.

Didal won a gold medal in the Asian Games in 2018 and two gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games last year.

She hopes to earn one of the 19 slots for the women's street event in Tokyo next year, where skateboarding is being contested as an Olympic sport for the very first time.

Qualifying tournaments for skateboarding remain on hold because of the global health crisis. Nonetheless, Didal continues to prepare, and last month she won the Asian Skateboarding Championships 2020 Online Skate Lockdown Video Competition.

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