TOKYO Olympics silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio will get another crack at their second straight Olympics after surviving tryouts for the national team, which left for Canberra, Australia over the weekend to begin building up for qualifying tournaments for the Paris Summer Games in July.
Paalam and Petecio were among the 10 members of the national team of five men and five women that topped the two-day box-offs held by the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines at the ABAP gym of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, according to ABAP secretary general Marcus Manalo.
“The team left for Canberra, Australia last Saturday with Australian coach Don Abnett and the rest of the coaching staff as they begin their training for the two Olympic qualifiers set this year,” Manalo said.
Aside from Paalam, the other members of the newly-formed national men’s squad are veteran and Rio Olympian Rogen Ladon, Mark Ashley Fajardo, Ronald Chavez Jr., son of former national standout and present national coach Ronald Chavez Sr.; and John Nobel Tupas Marvin.
Joining Petecio in the women’s squad are Aira Villegas, Claudine Veloso, Riza Pasulit and Hergie Bacyadan.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Felix Eumir Marcial stayed behind as he trains for his first pro fight in Manila for the first time in March.
“The national team will be training for two weeks in Australia then head off to Spain for further training and an invitational competition organized by the Spanish federation from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4,” Manalo said.
Once acclimatized to the European weather, he said the Pinoy boxers will travel to the first of two Olympic qualifiers scheduled Feb. 29 to March 12 in Busto Arsizio, Italy, an Italian town 613 kilometers northwest of the Italian capital of Rome.
After that Olympic qualifying meet, next up for the national squad is a training camp in April at the high-altitude US Olympic training center in Denver, Colorado where Marcial will be reunited with the rest of the team.
