Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz leads a total of 299 athletes and 63 officials that will comprise the Philippine delegation to the 2018 Asian Games to be held August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.
The list, released by the Philippine Olympic Committee on June 29, includes 163 male and 136 female athletes who will go for glory in 31 disciplines in the quadrennial meet that brings together the best athletes in the continent.
Diaz missed out on last year's Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games after organizers scrapped women's weightlifting. She will be joined in Jakarta by Kristel Macrohon and fellow Rio Olympian Nestor Colonia.
Canoe kayak/traditional dragonboat racing has the largest contribution to the delegation with 27, followed by taekwondo and softball, represented by the Blu Girls, with 19 and 18, respectively. Women's volleyball, which will have a Philippine team for the first time in 36 years, has 15, while men's basketball, bridge and bowling have 12 each.
In the last Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, the Philippines managed to bag just one gold medal courtesy of BMX rider Daniel Caluag. Caluag will be back to defend his crown and will be joined by his brother Christopher John in the BMX event. Aside from Caluag's gold, the Philippines also brought home three silvers and 11 bronzes.
The complete list of events with Philippine participation and number of Filipino athletes per event: