VETERAN Charly Suarez led the march of four Filipino boxers to the semifinals of the Asian-Oceanian Olympic Qualifying Boxing Tournament on Tuesday, giving the country bright hopes of snatching berths to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.
Temperatures dipped to as low as 3 degrees (Celsius) but the Filipino boxers turned up the heat at the state-of-the-art Tangshan Sports Centre in the northern Chinese city of Qian’An in Hebei Province.
Suarez, also the team’s captain, decisively beat a lanky Dheeraj Rangi of India, getting a pair of 30-27 and 29-28 to move a victory shy of claiming a ticket to Rio. He will face China’s Shan Jun in the semifinal round on Thursday.
“I know he has the hometown crowd but I have a fight plan that I think will turn things around for me,” said the 27-year-old Suarez of Shan.
No. 1 seed Rogen Ladon displayed speed and accuracy to thwart Iraq’s Shakir Hassan Ali Al-Kaabi in another unanimous-decision win—30-25 in all the judges’ cards with the Iraqi getting slapped a two-point deduction for ducking. Ladon’s semifinals foe will be a shifty Devendro Singh Laisham of India.
Welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial, also ranked No. 1 in the qualifier, had no problem disposing of Sajjad Kazemzadehposhtiri of Iran. The judges had the young Zamboangueño winning hands down, 30-27 (twice) and 29-28. He goes up against Shakram Giyasov of Uzbekistan, who got passed his rival from Korea in the quarterfinals, in the semifinals.
Mario Fernandez also barged into the semifinals with a 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 decision over Mohammed Abdelaziz Alwadi of Jordan. He has a highly regarded Thai, Chatchai Butdee, as his next opponent.
But it was Nesthy Petecio’s unanimous-decision loss to five-time world champion Mery Kom Hmangte of India that broke the Filipinos’ hearts.
“We thought Nesthy had her. She delivered clear blows and outboxed the Indian. We were surprised with the decision,” Women’s Head Coach Roel Velasco said.
“She hardly touched me. And I could hear her grunt and groan every time I hit her. Many times. I hope I have another chance at her. I promise you it will be much different,” Petecio said.
Alliance of Boxing Association of the Philippines President Ricky Vargas has been closely monitoring the events from the United States and encouraged the boxers through text and e-mail.
“I am encouraged by their performance. I continue to pray hard for their success. I will have a nice surprise for those who qualify when I see them back in the Philippines,” Vargas said in a text message to boxing officials.
The top 3 in the men’s division and the gold and silver medalists in the women’s class will advance to Rio. There will be a box-off for the third Olympic slot in the men’s contest.