Aira Villegas, Albert Ian delos Santos to serve as PH flag bearers at Asian Games

Boxer Aira Villegas and weightlifter Albert Ian delos Santos will serve as the Philippines’ flag bearers at the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino named them during the country’s send-off ceremony at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila on Thursday.

Villegas took home a bronze medal in the women’s boxing competition of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she was also the flag bearer during the closing rites.

Delos Santos, on the other hand, claimed three gold medals and set new Asian and world junior records at the 2026 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships.

That spectacular performance earned him the honor to hoist the Philippine flag.

Meanwhile, Tolentino said that Filipina tennis star Alex Eala was considered to carry the nation’s flag, but her father, Mike, politely declined due to her scheduling conflict with the Singapore Tennis Open.