Carlo Paalam moved two wins away from earning a Paris Olympics spot after surviving Armenia’s Artur Bazeyan with a split decision win to barge into the men’s 57kg quarterfinals of the 2nd World Boxing Qualification in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday, May 30.

The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist now awaits the winner between Lee Cheng-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Dominican Republic’s Jose De Lo Santos, who will collide Friday, May 31, in the week-long tournament which offers the remaining slots for the Summer Games set in the French capital.

Paalam must enter the finals to secure his ticket and join fellow boxers Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas in Paris.

A loss in the semifinals will relegate him into a box-off where the winner will bag the last spot.

Prior to his triumph, the pride of Talakag, Bukidnon opened his stint with a resounding win over Alexei Lagkazasvili of Greece in the preliminaries.

He then completed his redemption against Turkmenistan’s Shukur Ovenov in Round of 32. The latter outlasted the Filipino boxer in the 1st World Boxing OQT in Busto Arsizio, Italy last March.

Hergie Bacyadan, meanwhile, will battle Hungarian Veronika Nakota in the Last 16 Saturday, June 1.

The 29-year-old fighter from Baguio needs to enter the semis to secure a Paris spot.