Weakened and thinned by his long bout with multiple illnesses, Olympic boxing medalist Leopoldo Serantes still found the strength to join millions of Filipinos in congratulating Hidilyn Diaz for her historic gold medal in the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
Serantes posed for a picture with a clenched fist while intubated and lying on his sickbed. This was posted on his Facebook account, where he wrote in capital letters “Magandang umaga sa ating lahat, binabati ko po si Hidilyn sa kanyang tagumpay para sa Bayan. Mabuhay po kayo and God bless you all.”
Like Diaz, Serantes also aspired for the elusive gold in the world’s greatest sporting spectacle. He failed but still gave his countrymen back home something to cheer about by bagging a bronze medal in the boxing competition of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Serantes came back home and was greeted by festive rites and given a tickertape parade, unlike Diaz who returned on Wednesday to a simple welcome ceremony at the airport due to strict social distancing protocols to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
But life has not been kind to Serantes, who has been confined at the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City due to a lingering pulmonary ailment and serious heart condition.
The Philippine Sports Commission has been helping Serantes in his medical needs in recent years.
Serantes, now 59 and a widower, was among the 10 most recent batch of sports legends to be enshrined into the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame.
Among his co-inductees were basketball player Robert Jaworski, swimmer Eric Buhain, track and field star Elma Muros-Posadas and 1988 Olympic gold medalist Arianne Cerdena of bowling.
Obviously in pain but in high spirits, he still managed to post on social media a photo of him holding his Hall of Fame trophy.
“Nakatubo po ako ngayon at hindi pa po natatanggal, nag-post lang po ako para magpasalamat sa lahat ng nagsuporta at nagtiwala upang makapasok po ako sa Hall of Fame. Maraming salamat po sa ating butihing chairman William Ramirez at sa board. Mabuhay po tayong lahat,” he said.
Serantes settled for bronze following a loss to Bulgarian Ivailo Khristov in boxing’s light-flyweight semifinals. He defeated three boxers from Egypt, Liberia and Morocco before losing in the semis.
It was a highly celebrated medal as it came 24 years after the Philippines grabbed a silver, courtesy of another boxer Anthony Villanueva at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics..
