WITHOUT landing a punch, Hergie Bacyadan was assured of at least a bronze medal in the women’s middleweight (75kg) division after the draw in the 32nd Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships that began last Tuesday in Amman, Jordan.
“Bacyadan gets a bye in the quarterfinals. She is in the semifinals outright and assured of a medal,” said boxing secretary Marcus Manalo of the Kalinga, Apayao native, who is among the five boxers entered in her division.
Manalo, who joined the team in the Jordanian capital, said that Bacyadan will face Uzbekistan’s Ruzmetova Sokhiba in the semis on Nov. 9.
“Overall, not the best draw for us but the team is up to the challenge,” noted the boxing official of the draw that was held simultaneously with the technical and team managers meeting last Monday in the competition that drew 267 boxers from 27 countries.
He added that swinging into action last night (afternoon Jordan time) were featherweight Mario Fernandez and light welterweight James Palicte, a gold medalist in the 30th Southeast Asian Games three years ago.
Fernandez is up against hometown bet Yousef Iashash while Palicte battles Iraq’s Jaafar Abdulreal-Sudani.
Stepping into the ring today are women’s featherweight contender Althea Shine Pores and light flyweight Aira Cordero Villegas, who face Thailand’s Thipsatcha Yodwaree and Yokubova Aziza of Uzbekistan, respectively, in their preliminary bouts.
Tomorrow will be a busy day for the Pinoy pugs, with five of them seeing action, led by Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam and back-to-back Southeast Asian Games flyweight king Rogen Ladon.
Paalam opens his campaign in the men’s featherweight division against Turkmenistan’s Muhanov Dovlet while Ladon tackles South Korea’s Sehyeong Jo.
Also competing are minimumweight Mark Lester Durens, light welterweight Paul Julyfer Bascon and super welterweight Marjon Planar.
Durens battles Mongolia’s Orkontuntalag Unubold, Bascon meets Uzbekistan’s Mukhiddinov Adkhamjon and Planar takes on No. 2 seed Aslanbek Shymbergenov in their first-round clashes.
Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio, who drew a bye to the quarterfinals, heads three Pinay boxers competing Saturday. The No. 2 seed in the featherweight division, Petecio meets the victor between Thailand’s Nilawan Techasuep and Mongolian Monkhor Namuun in the previous round.
