10 Pinoy pugs eye Paris slots in Italian qualifying tilt

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TOKYO Olympic silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio will gun for a return trip to the Olympic Games in Paris in July when they lead a 10-man national squad that will see action in the first World Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament opening on Sunday in Busto, Arsizio, Italy.

Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines secretary general Marcus Manalo said the other members of the team vying for tickets to Paris are Rio Olympic Games veteran Rogen Ladon, Mark Ashley Fajardo, Ronald Chavez Jr. and John Nobel Marvin in the men’s division.

Besides Petecio, the other members of the women’s squad are Air Villegas, Claudine Veloso, Riza Pasuit and Herge Bacyadan.

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Not around to join them is Eumir Felix Marcial, who is preparing for his first pro fight in the Philippines next month, but already has qualified for the Paris Summer Games after securing a silver medal in the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games last year.

“All of our boxers have trained hard and well, and, hopefully, we expect them to perform their best as they seek to qualify for Paris in the first world Olympic qualifying competition,” said Manalo, who left last Wednesday to join the Pinoy boxers in the Italian town located 613 kilometers southeast of Rome.

Under the supervision of Australian coach Don Abnett, the 10 boxers have been training extensively over the past month in Spain, and the fruits of their labors were evident three weeks ago when Petecio and three others won gold medals in the Boxam Elite Tournament in Alicante, Spain.

Petecio, 31, recorded a 4-1 victory over Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Chinese Taipei’s Huang Hsiao-Wen to rule the women’s featherweight (57-kilogram) division.

Flyweight (51kg) Ladon, light flyweight (50kg) Villegas and middleweight (75kg) Bacyadan also won their championship matches and are expected to be in high spirits when they gun for Olympic slots.

At least four Olympic slots will be at stake in the men’s flyweight, featherweight (57kg), light welterweight (63.5kg), light middleweight (71kg) and heavyweight (92kg) categories.

This means that a boxer in the men’s division who reaches the semifinals is guaranteed a ticket to Paris.

The allocation of slots in the women’s division is different, with Petecio having the toughest assignment of all since only the finalists in the various weight classes are ensured of making it to Paris.

Pasuit has the next hardest division since only three Olympic slots are up for grabs in her class: the two finalists while the losing semifinalists will figure in a box-off for the third and last slot.

Light flyweight Villegas, bantamweight Veloso and middleweight Bacyadan have better chances since four Olympic slots are available in their weight classes.

Outside of Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Hidylin Diaz-Naranjo, Filipino boxers were the toast of the country in the Japanese capital three years ago, with Marcial also bringing home a bronze medal from the quadrennial sports showcase.

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