Dili, 21 April 2026 (Media Democracia) – The National Parliament held a debate about boxer Delio who fought against an Australian boxer, but the result was a 0-6 loss. However, we still appreciated him and gave congratulations. The debate was held on Monday this week (20/04/2026).
According to PLP Deputy Maria Anjelina L. Sarmento, said that although boxer Delio lost to the Australian boxer, he put the nation of Timor-Leste on the world stage.
“Even though Timorese boxer Delio lost in the competition in Australia with a score of 0-6 in that competition, he still gave his full effort to compete, our appreciation and congratulations to Delio for his courage to compete against boxers from the advanced nation of Australia, this shows that even though Timor-Leste is a small country, it wants to gain experience through participation, competing against a big nation shows that Timor can also do it.” said PLP Deputy Maria Anjeliana L. Sarmento at the National Parliament (20/04/2026).
In addition, PLP Deputy Maria Angelina also observes that there are many athletes who have already shown their performance like Delio in regional and international games, but they do not get support from the government.
“I want to demand that the government not discriminate against athletes, the same situation also happened at the 303rd Asian Games in Thailand in 2025, where the government did not invest well in the athletes, the government carried out major discrimination because some sports were supported by the government but others were not. According to social media publications, 14 sports participated in the Asian Games but only 5 sports received support from MJDAK, and the other 9 sports were forced to just beg other countries for support. As a new member of Asia, we brought 135 athletes to participate in the Asian Games, but it’s sad because discrimination happened. The government cannot just demand medals from athletes, but must invest first before demanding medals.” said the PLP Deputy.
It explains here that the state encourages and gives courage to young men and young women so they can strengthen national unity and rebuild this nation. The state will do everything it can to support education, health, and professional training for young people through sports. In the National Strategic Development Plan 2011 to 2030, it describes that Timor-Leste must implement the Youth and Sports Strategy, which will promote sports as a way to help build character, advance, and carry Timor-Leste forward.
Report By: Trainees Novita and Leozalia
Photo By: Trainee Leozalia