TOKYO. – Carlo Paalam guaranteed another bronze medal for the Philippines on Tuesday after winning by split decision over reigning champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan in the flyweight division of the Tokyo Olympics boxing competition at the Kokugikan Arena here.
Paalam’s victory at the expense of the Uzbek, who won the gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, assured the Philippines of its fourth medal in the games here, counting the breakthrough gold of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the silver medal of boxer Nesthy Petecio, and the medal to be won by boxer Eumir Marcial, who advanced to the semis last Sunday.
It will be an unprecedented harvest for the Philippines, surpassing the three bronze medals won by the country in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics courtesy of swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, boxer Jose Villanueva and trackster Simeon Toribio.
Told by the coaching staff to put pressure on the Uzbek early, Paalam obliged, catching the Rio Olympics champion with several combinations before darting away to safety.
“Pilit po niya akong kinukuha sa first round, pero sabi po ni Coach Ronald (Chavez), dapat makuha mo ‘yung first round para sila ang ma-pressure sa’yo. ‘Yun nga po, nakuha ko ang first round, tapos pine-pressure niya talaga ako. Sabi ng mga coaches ko, ilabas ko lang daw ‘yung laro ko,” said Paalam, 23.
The result was an emphatic first-round score of 5-0, which Paalam may have maintained in the second round before a nasty clash of heads with 1:44 left forced Ukrainian referee Pablo Vasylynchuk to halt play to have the two fighters checked by the ring physician.
With both fighters deemed unfit to continue because of a slight gash in their heads, the fight was halted and awarded to Paalam, who was ahead on points at the time of stoppage, 20-19, on four judges and tied 19-19 in the fifth for a 4-0 win.
“Unang una po sa lahat, nagpapasalamat po ako sa Panginoon sa pagbibigay ng lakas sa akin para maipanalo ko ang laban na ito. Maraming salamat din sa tiwala ng mga coaches ko, sa ABAP at sa PSC. Salamat din po sa mga sumusuporta po sa akin at sa aming lahat na mga atletang Pilipino. Sabi nga po ng Panginoon, ‘Makakaya mo, basta kasama mo ako,’” Paalam said.
The road to the gold, however, became tougher as Paalam next takes on hometown bet Ryomei Tanaka, who 15 minutes earlierwon what looked like a lost bout against Rivas Martinez of Colombia. Tanaka was taken out of the arena on a wheelchair because of exhaustion.
