PARIS (Via PLDT Home) – Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam found his footing in the second round and cruised to a 5-0 win against Jude Gallagher of Ireland to move to within a win shy of a bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics boxing competitions here at the North Arena Arena on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Paalam did just enough on the boxing ring to make it three Filipino boxers still in contention for that elusive boxing gold after Tokyo bronze medalist Eumir Marcial and Igorot boxer Hergie Bacyadan fell by the wayside also on Wednesday.
Paalam’s fellow Tokyo silver medalist Nesthy Petecio and first-time Olympian Aira Villegas are still in the running after both won their opening Round of 32 bouts.
A former garbage scavenger in Cagayan de Oro before boxing opened his life to fame and fortune, Paalam took on a game Irish in the first round and led on the scorecards in three of the five judges, before cleaning up his act in the second, using his quickness to sneak in a couple of combinations to finally convince all of the judges.
He slowed down in the third and again drew the nod of three judges, doing just enough to walk away with the win that set him up a quarterfinal clash with two-time Australia national champion and gold medallist at the 2023 Pacific Games in Charlie Senior on August 3.
Paalam’s teammate Bacyadan and Fil-Canadian swimmer Kayla Sanchez, weren’t as lucky, as they fell to world-class opposition, also on Wednesday, to become the latest casualties of the 22-man Philippine Team in the 2024 Paris Olympics, now down to a fighting 13.
First-time Olympian Bacyadan rammed into a great wall in Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, China’s Li Qian in the women’s 75kg preliminaries Round of 16 boxing match at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte.
Bacyadan suffered a unanimous 0-5 decision loss to Li, also a bronze medalist in the Rio games, and became the second boxing casualty of the Philippine boxing team, next to Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Eumir Marcial, who bowed to a taller and younger Uzbekistan opponent in Turabek Khabibullaev early Wednesday morning.
“Sobang happy pa rin ako na napabilang ako sa mga Olympians. Dagdag aral sa buhay, dagdag aral sa sports na sinalihan ko,” said Bacyadan, who is also a kickboxer and vovinam national athlete.
Despite a fierce determination to engage in a brawl, Bacyadan was unable to connect with clean punches against the formidable Li, who ended the bout with five unanimous 30-27 (5-0) scores following her superior defense and evasive maneuvers.
“Sa experience talaga, lamang siya. Ganoon pa man, mayroon tayong tapang. Kulang lang talaga tayo ng exposure at experience. Kayang kaya ko naman, tinatanggap ko nga ang suntok, sabi ko tamaan ko lang, kaso wala talaga. Hindi ko lang masabi na KO talaga, timing din,” said Bacyadan.
“Tuloy-tuloy pa din, kickboxing at vovinam, ibi-visualize ko pa ‘yung kulang ko sa boxing. In case kailangan pa din ako, siguro mas mababang timbang na,” she added.
Meanwhile, Sanchez finished seventh in her women’s 100m semifinal heat as her time of 54.21 was more than a second behind American Gretchen Walsh.
Nevertheless, Sanchez, who helped Canada win two medals in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, before switching allegiance to the Philippines, still made history as her semifinal achievement placed her alongside swimming legends Teofilo Yldefonso (1928 Amsterdam), Amman Jalmaani (1968 Mexico) and Remedy Rule (2021 Tokyo) as the only Filipinos to reach this stage of the Olympics.
Sanchez’s journey to the semifinals was highlighted by a new national record of 53.67 seconds to finish at No. 10 among 29 swimmers in the prelims.
Her previous PH mark was 54.24, which she established in one of the heats during the Mel Zajac Jr. International Meet in Vancouver, Canada on June 23 this year.
Sanchez and Bacyadan became the 10th and 11th Filipino Olympians to be ousted here, joining Marcial, Fil-Am gymnasts Aleah Finnegan, Levi Jung-Ruivivar and Emma Malabuyo, fencer Samantha Catantan, judoka Kiyomi Watanabe and rower Joanie Delgaco.
The fight for Olympic medals now rest on the shoulders of pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena, Lauren Hoffman (Women’s 400m Hurdles), John Cabang Tolentino (Men’s 110m Hurdles), gymnast Carlos Yulo, boxers Petecio (Women’s -57kg), Villegas (Women’s 50kg) and Carlo Paalam (Men’s 57kg), golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Dottie Ardina, swimmer Jarod Hatch (Men’s 100m Butterfly) and weightlifters Elreen Ando, Vanessa Sarno and John Ceniza.
See www.manilastandard.net for results of Carlos Yulo’s medal bid in the all-around final.
