INCHEON, South Korea—The chase for a second gold medal terribly shrunk on a cool Thursday evening at the 17th Asian Games.
Only lightweight Charly Suarez advance to the finals of men’s boxing, as the three other hopefuls—Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga, Mario Fernandez and Wilfredo Lopez—fell one after the other in what the referees saw as lopsided contests at the Seonhak Gymnasium.
Suarez, the most veteran in the group, moved a victory shy of the gold after beating Mohammad Mustafa Alkasbeh of Jordan, 2-1. He fights Mongolia’s Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu, who survived a peskier and awkward Satoshi Shimizu of Japan, 3-0, in the other semifinal also on Thursday.
The Suarez-Dorjnyambuu golf medal fight is set at around 2:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. in Manila).
Bantamweight Fernandez was the first to fall, yielding to China’s Zhang Jiawei, 3-0. Barriga followed suit in a light-flyweight clash and lost to South Korea’s Shin Jonghun, 3-0. Barriga yielded some 6 inches in height to his five-foot-flat frame and had no answer to the Korean’s long reach.
Wilfredo Lopez fought last among the Filipino boxers and showed potential of beating another Jordanian, Odai Riyad Adel Alhindawi. He won the first round, but didn’t have enough wind in the next two rounds to also settle for a bronze medal, 1-2.
Adding Benjamin Keith Sembrano’s semifinal defeat to China’s Huang Jannan, 6-3, in men’s -68 kg in taekwondo earlier Thursday, the Philippines had four bronze medals more for a 1-2-9 gold-silver-bronze haul for 22nd spot on the tally board—way below mighty China (142-100-79), South Korea (71-66-74) and Japan (46-69-69).
Daniel Patrick Caluag’s triumph in BMX cycling remained as the country’s only gold medal so far in the games that end on Saturday.
Karate also failed to deliver a medal on Thursday, with James Virgil de los Santos losing to Hong Kong’s Cheng Tsz Man Chris, 4-1, in men’s kata.
The Volcanoes, on the other hand, earned some bragging rights over a frustrated Gilas Pilipinas. They beat China, 28-21, in the battle for fifth place in men’s rugby. Japan, Hong Kong and Korea completed the podium, with Sri Lanka grabbing fourth place.
Jane Rafaelle Narra could not match Sembrano’s accomplishment for the day and was booted out in her first fight against Chinese, Guo Yun Fei, the reigning Asian Games and continental championship gold medalist, 0-5.
Left to fight for a gold medal on Friday are veteran John Paul Lizardo and Francis Aaron Agojo in taekwondo. Lizardo faces Laos’s Thipphakone Kuangmany in the men’s -52 kg round of 32, and Agojo battles Myanmar’s Shein Naing Dwe in the men’s -58 kg round of 16.
Image credits: AP