At A Glance
- BANGKOK – There was something strange about Mark Ashley Fajardo's punch during his men's 69-kilograms round of 16 match at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Centre on Wednesday, Dec. 10 here.
BANGKOK – There was something strange about Mark Ashley Fajardo’s punch during his men’s 69-kilograms round of 16 match at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Centre on Wednesday, Dec. 10 here.
Though giving up a few inches against his Vietnamese opponent Nguyen Duc Ngoc, his punches carried more weight and were extra sharp.
It turned out, not only that it bore his dream of winning a medal for the Philippine but his fists also conveyed the hopes ofa his family to recover from the after-effects of the disaster that had hit his hometown Talisay City in Cebu.
“Gusto ko talaga makakuha ng medalya sa SEA Games po. Kasi, yun ang inspirasyon ko pamilya ko sa Cebu kasi nabagyo rin sila eh,” said the 20-year-old pug who revealed that their home was one of the many houses submerged by the recent flooding in Cebu.
The result was 5-0 demolition of his bigger foe, as if that division was for him to rule even though he was only tapped as replacement.
“Di ko talaga timbang ito, kasi parang replacement lang ako. Timbang ko 63, hirap ako magbawas ng timbang kaya ito yung nilaruan ko,” said Fajardo
“Sobrang magsalamat ako rin sa Panginoon kasi ako yung pinalaro nito, hindi ko pa rin inexpect. God blessings po lahat. Pero, yung laban po para sa pamilya ko,” he added.
With the win, Fajardo is one step away from reaching the podium although standing in his way is Indonesian boxer Jekri Riwu who drew a bye in the first round of competitions.
Aside from Fajardo, also coming out victorious in the opening day of boxing events was Ofelia Magno in the women’s 48kg quarterfinals.
Magno had to shake off some jitters in the opening round before controlling the tempo in the ensuing frames to score a 4-1 win over Aye Nyein Htoo of Myanmar.
Not as fortunate, however, was Ian Clark Bautista, who got his bid for a fourth straight gold, got dashed away by a 5-0 loss to Thai bet Sarawut Sukthet in the men’s 57kg quarterfinals.