TOKYO. – Eumir Felix Marcial gave fellow pro Arman Darchinyan a dose of his power, knocking the Armenian outin the first round Sunday to advance to the semifinalswhere he is guaranteed a bronze medal in the boxing competitions of the Summer Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena here.
The end came at the 2:11 mark of the opening round after Marcial, seeded No. 4 in the men’s middleweight class, decked Darchinyan with a right hook to the jaw.
Referee Perez Olivares of Colombia, who had given the Armenian a standing-8 count earlier, immediately stopped the fight, giving another abbreviated win to Marcial, who won his first bout here against Algerian Younes Nemouchi via a Referee-Stopped-Contest due to Injury.
“Right hook ko ang naka-knockout sa kanya. Hindi ko rin ine-expect ‘yung suntok na ‘yun.
Basta ‘yung akin lang, bitaw lang ako ng suntok at ito naman ang pinag-ensayuhan namin, kaya nagkaroon na ng muscle memory na automatic na ‘yung katawan na sumusuntok at gumagalaw. Lahat po ‘yun nakuha namin sa training at talagang pinaghandaan po namin ito,” said Marcial.
The win assured Marcial of at last bronze and the second medal for the Olympic boxers here following the guaranteed silver of Nesthy Petecio in the women’s featherweight division.
Marcial’s victory also assured the Philippines of at least three medals in this year’s Olympics, including the historic gold by Hidilyn Diaz in weightlifting. The country also won three medals — all bronzes — in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics through swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, boxer Jose Villanueva and trackster Simeon Toribio.
Marcial and Petecio can upgrade the color of their medals if they win their next bouts — Petecio in the gold-medal duel on Tuesday against Japanese Sena Irie, and Marcial on
Thursday in a semifinal showdown with former tormentor Oleksandr Khyzhniak of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Juvic Pagunsan closed out with a 70 Sunday to finish in 55th place at the end of the Tokyo Olympic Games men’s golf tournament at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. With earlier rounds of 66, 73 and 76, the Filipino pro finished 21 shots behind unheralded
American gold medalist Xander Schaufelle, who had 67 and a total of 266 for a one-shot win over Slovak silver medalist Rory Sabitini, who sizzled with a 61 for 267.
The ploy was for Marcial to test Darchinyan’s power, and when he engages, that’s when the Filipino would sneak in for the counter, before darting away.
“Noong una, medyo tinatansya ko pa, pero noong mga late minute na ng round, nakukuha ko na ‘yung game niya. Suntok, then alis lang ako. Medyo open guard lang ako para mas makita ko ‘yung suntok niya. ‘Yung plan ko talaga na ipapain ko ‘yung mukha ko para ma-counter ko ‘yung attack niya kaya naka-open guard po ako. ‘Yun din po ‘yung instructions ng coach ko, na tingnan ko lang ‘yung suntok n’ya,” said Marcia,l who is slowly building a reputation in the games as a KO artist.
His first match, although not a knockout, also showcased his power as he rattled his Algerian opponent in the first round.
Marcia, 25, who points to his father as his biggest influence on why he took up the sport, will fight a Ukrainian rival that has beaten him in the past in the 2018 Strandja Memorial in Sofia, Bulgaria, albeit under different circumstances.
“Ready po ako sa laban na ito. During nu’ng laban namin, na-injured ako, kaya natalo ako.
Sa pakiramdam ko, kundisyon na kundisyon ako ngayon. Ready po ako sa laban na ito,” said Marcial.
