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THE
Philippine’s bid to send more boxers to the Beijing
Olympics suffered a big blow when Doha Asian gold
medalist Violito Payla was dropped from the squad to the
last Asian Olympic qualifying tournament because of an
injury.
Amateur
Boxing Association of the Philippines (Abap) president
Manny Lopez announced that the 2004 Athens Olympics
campaigner suffered a partial, torn rotator cuff on his
left shoulder and would not be physically ready for the
qualifier in
Kazakhstan.
“Abap
and I share Payla’s disappointment for not getting a
golden chance to make his second Olympics. No doubt,
Payla is one of our strongest bets for an Olympic slot
in
Kazakhstan
and Abap will continue to support him until he rejoins
the national pool for training,” Lopez said in a
statement.
According to Abap secretary-general Roger Fortaleza, the
coaching staff, headed by Cuban coaches Dagoberto Rojas
Scott and Enrique Steyners Tissert, is still trying to
determine who will replace Payla on the team. The
coaches are looking at Rey Saludar or Godfrey Castro.
Between
the two, the 23-year-old Castro has international
experience, having fought in the 2006 Asian Games in
Doha in the light-flyweight division where he reached the
semifinals for a bronze medal.
The RP
boxing team will leave on March 11 together with the two
Cuban coaches and boxers Joan Tipon, Genebert Basadre,
Orlando Tacuyan Jr. and Adam Bigornia Fiel.
So far,
Harry Tañamor is the lone Filipino boxer that has
secured a ticket in the Beijing Games but Lopez is
confident that more will join him after the Kazakhstan
qualifier.
But
Payla’s exit in the team was indeed a huge
disappointment for the team as the 29-year pugilist is
being considered to have the best chance to make it to
the Games this August.
Meanwhile, Lopez vehemently denied that the two Cuban
coaches who are overseeing the Filipino boxers’ training
for the Kazakhstan qualifier want to stay in a hotel
rather than their designated quarters at the PhilSports
Complex in Pasig City.
The Abap
chief explained that the Cuban coaches are temporarily
billeted at the Longwood Hotel on Harrison Sreet near
the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, “because their
PhilSports Complex quarters need to be repaired.”
The
Philippine Sports Commission, according to Lopez, is now
repairing the quarters, adding the Cubans will transfer
there once repair work is completed.
Word of
the Cuban coaches reportedly seeking an upgrade in their
accommodation started circulating at the Rizal Complex
earlier this week, something that was scoffed at by PSC
insiders.
“Even
the (PSC) Chairman (William Ramirez) and his executive
director (Fr. Vic Uy) are staying at the Philsports
Complex. They (Cuban coaches) have no business
requesting to be moved to other quarters,” said one
insider.
The
Cuban coaches arrived last month to handle the training
of the Pinoy boxers preparing for the second Asian
Olympic qualifying event set on March 16 to 24 in
Kazakhstan.
Tissert is receiving a monthly salary of $1,800 while
Scot is getting $1,200.
Abap has
secured P18 million financial support from
telecommunications magnate Manny V. Pangilinan in its
bid to deliver the country’s first Olympic gold medal in
Beijing.
Another
PSC insider said the Cuban coaches were enraged over
reports they are being lured away from their task by
some good fun and nights of alcohol with local coaches
in joints at the RMSC. The insider quoted Olympian
Enrique Beech, who acts as translator between the two
Cubans, local coaches and the boxers, as saying “they
never encountered anything like this back in Cuba.”
Lopez,
for his part, claimed that on the night the two Cubans
were spotted enjoying the night with local coaches,
“they merely drank soft drinks, adding everybody needs
to unwind.” |
