SHOCKWAVES were sent after news broke out that Japanese Filipino golf superstar Yuka Saso has chosen to become a Japanese national and that she has started the process of acquiring her Japanese citizenship.
Under Japanese laws, individuals with dual citizenship must choose one nationality before turning 22 years of age. And the reigning US Open Women's champion has chosen to become a Japanese citizen.
Does this mean Saso can no longer represent the Philippines in international competitions such as the Olympics where she placed 9th overall in Tokyo last August while playing for the Philippine flag?
To begin with, it is important to determine if Saso intends to represent Japan in future international meets like the 2024 Olympics in Paris. If she does, Saso would have to go through quite an arduous process, based on the rules of the International Golf Federation (IGF).
In its Nationality Policy, the IGF stated that a player with dual citizenship who has already represented a particular country, in Saso's case the Philippines, can no longer represent another country.
That's good news for Philippine sports.
But the rulebook does not end there and since Saso is set to acquire a new citizenship, she is allowed to represent another country — Japan this time — in the Paris Games provided that "at the start of the qualification period for such event, at least four years have passed since the competitor last represented his or her former country."
The Paris Olympic golf qualification timeline has not yet started. And obviously, when it does begin, Saso is not yet four years removed from representing the Philippines at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was delayed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
One may look at it as a required residency rule or redshirt year when one collegiate athlete transfers from one member school to another school.
Based on this rule, Saso cannot represent Japan in 2024 but can play for the country in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
This leaves a question: Will Saso play for the Philippines at the 2024 Games? Or will she sit that one out and play for Japan in 2028?
According to the IGF rule, Saso still has a window to represent the Philippines in the 2024 Games if she wanted to. After all, Saso remains a Filipino citizen based on Philippine laws as she was born in the Philippines (jus soli) and her mother is a Filipino.
But there's more.
That four years of removal from representing a player's former country, per the IGF, "may be extended, reduced or even cancelled, with the agreement of the sanctioning organization, which takes into account the circumstances of each case and any applicable guidelines and standards provided by the IGF."
That means there is a chance Saso can play for Japan in the 2024 Olympics pending clearance from the IGF and the International Olympic Committee.
Can Saso still represent PH in 2024 Olympics? - The Manila Times
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