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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Boxing devider Paalam survives taller rival, advances to quarters

Paalam survives taller rival, advances to quarters

Published Sep 30, 2023 11:38 am

At A Glance

  • Shorter by several inches but wiser and craftier, Carlo Paalam brought Kyrgyzstan's Munarbek Uulu Seiitbek down to size to move closer to a medal round in the boxing competitions on Saturday, Sept. 30, in the 19th Asian Games here.

HANGZHOU, China – Shorter by several inches but wiser and craftier, Carlo Paalam brought Kyrgyzstan's Munarbek Uulu Seiitbek down to size to move closer to a medal round in the boxing competitions on Saturday, Sept. 30, in the 19th Asian Games here.

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Carlo Paalam (PSC-POC Media pool)

In what could be the closest fight for the day, Paalam, 25, got the better of a furious exchange of heavy shots in the deciding third round to prevail, 4-1, in their men’s 57-kilogram class watched by a large enthusiastic crowd.

“Hirap ako dahil mahaba at matangkad siya pero nag-adjust ako sa third round kaya nanalo,” said Paalam.

“Matalino maglaro.”

The Carmen, Cagayan de Oro proud, however, proved to be a lot smarter at crunch time, coming through with vicious combinations that enabled him to turn his fortune around and advance to the quarters.

Another win on Tuesday will assure Paalam a bronze medal but needs to advance to the final round to earn another shot at Olympic glory.

The last time a Filipino boxer won a gold medal in the event was during the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010 courtesy of Rey Saludar.

“Sana tuloy tuloy ang panalo,” the 5-foot-4 Paalam who found fame and fortune in boxing after he started as a scavenger during his teen days back home.

Paalam, who was born in Bukidnon before moving to Cagayan de Oro City, needs to fight extraordinarily to beat reigning world champion

Uzbek Abdulmalik Khalokov in the next round.

The Tokyo Games silver medal winner, started well, leading in all five judges in the first round but Seiitbek, the bronze medalist in the recent World Championships, intensified his attack and scored through his combinations to the body, which Paalam admitted hurt him.

“Lahat sila magagaling kaya tinamaan ako, buti nakabawi sa third,” said Paalam, who is practically new to his weight category.

If the second round was exciting, the third was explosive with both fighters trading heavy shots – not to mention brilliant combinations.

But Paalam produced the clearer shots in that torrid exchange to earn the nods of the judges once again.

Save for Paalam’s victory, other PH bets suffered defeats almost everywhere that the nation remained way below in the medal board with 1 silver and 6 bronze medals.

The only good news was that Hagen Topacio led the trap men’s qualifying round with 74 with Carlos Carag at No. 23 wirth 6 and Eric Ang at 37th.

In the team event, the trio stood at 8th place with 205, 12 points of Kuwait.

In weightlifting, Rosegie Ramos finished fifth in the women’s 49kg with a total lift of 190, 26 kilos behind eventual winner Korean Songgum Ri.

Hopefully, superstar EJ Obiena will have a formal coronation as Asian pole vault king in the evening, which the Filipino fans are praying for. 

Meantime, Eumir Marcial booked a quarterfinals slot in the men’s light-heavyweight late Friday after dispatching Nguyen Mahn Cuong of Vietnam.

The 27-year-old Marcial connected on a solid right against Nguyen Mahn in the second round for a mandatory eight count on the way to a dominant 5-0 win in their Round-of-16 match.

Just as expected, PH triathletes Marion Kim Mangrobang and Raven Faith Alcoseba fared miserably in the women’s women’s triathlon also on Saturday at the Chun’an Jieshou Sports Centre Triathlon Course.

Mangrobang finished in 13th place in 2 hours, 13 minutes and 49 seconds in the 2-lap 1,500-meter swim, 6-lap  40-kilometer bike, 4-lap 10km  run among 21 participants.

Alcoseba, a rookie, ended in 16th place (2:13.18).

In golf, Rianne Malixi virtually kissed her medal bid goodbye after finding herself 21 shots off leader Aditi Ashok of India after struggling with a 73 for a three-day total of 211. Ashok shot a mind-boggling 61 for a 7-shot lead over Thai Arphichaya Yubol.

Meanwhile, PH Sibol’s campaign ended disappointingly after a 1-0 defeat to Uzbekistan in the Group Stage action of DOTA 2 matches also Friday evening at the Hangzhou Esports center.

The loss pushed the Sibol squad out of contention for the quarterfinals, allowing Uzbekistan to move to the next stage with its two-game sweep of Group A.

It also dropped out of contention in the Dream Three Kingdoms 2 quarterfinal of the esports event making its debut in the Asian Games.

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