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Philippines, 10 Apr 2026 |
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SPORTS SHORT 187: CARLO PAALAM VS. RYOMEI TANAKA OF JAPAN AND EUMIR MARCIAL VS. OLEKSANDER KHYZHNIAK OF UKRAINE FOR THE SILVER MEDAL By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Thu, 05 Aug 2021  Carlo Paalam clinches a sure bronze at the same time giving a third boxing medal for the Philippines when he defeated 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist and 2019 world champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan for a semifinal berth in the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday at the Kokugikan Arena. * * * Paalam's victory came via 4-0 majority decision, 20-18, 20-18, 19-19, 20-18, 20-18, against the stunned Zoirov in the men's flyweight quarterfinal, when the referee stopped the bout at the 1:44 mark of the second round following an accidental head butt causing a cut above the left eye of the Uzbek. * * * Paalam, aged 23 years, the youngest participant of the country's Olympic team, gave the contingent its fourth overall medal for these Games. The Filipinos' achievement already surpassed the Philippines' highest medal harvest in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. * * * The medalists during that Olympics were swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, boxer Jose Villanueva, and high jumper Simeon Toribio. A native of Zamboanga City, Toribio was the first athletics medalist, followed by Miguel White in the men's 400 meter hurdles in 1936 Berlin Olympics. * * * Paalam will face Japanese hometown favorite Ryomei Tanaka in the semifinal bout today, Thursday, August 5, at 1:30 pm, Philippine time. * * * The Cagayan de Oro native dominated the first round as Paalam fought a tactical fight and landed powerful left hooks on Zoirov. The referee stopped the bout when both boxers suffered cuts in the second round. * * * With Zoirov's gash deeper the physician stopped the fight and Paalam won the judges nod to give the win to the Filipino, who kneeled into the canvas crying of joy. * * * Paalam now joins the Philippines' first Olympic gold medalist, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, silver medalist Nesthy Petecio, and boxer Eumir Marcial, in harvesting medals for the Philippines in the ongoing Tokyo Games. * * * Ryomei Tanaka competed in the men's flyweight event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. His younger brother, Kosei is a former WBO triple world champion. * * * On August 15, 2011 he fought his amateur debut and lost to the future top Japanese professional fighter Naoya Inoue who was 8-3-0 that time in an Interscholastic Tournament. * * * Ryomei Tanaka Amateur record: 20 wins 17 losses 0 KO win Born in Tajimi, Gifu, Japan Age 27 Stance southpaw Height5′ 6½″ (169cm) * * * Carlo Paalam Amateur record: 37 wins 11 losses 1 KO win Born in Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Philippines (according to BoxRec), Bukidnon (according to Wikipedia) Age 23 Stance orthodox Height 5′ 4″ (162 cm) * * * Tanaka defeated Yoel Finol of Venezuela in the round of 32 by a 5-0 unanimous decision. In the following round of 16 Tanaka beat Chinese boxer Hu Jianguan by a 3-1 split decision. * * * “Fairness is only for the hosts and I am nothing more than a sacrificial lamb,” Hu posted on Weibo on Tuesday, after he was defeated by Japan’s Tanaka in their flyweight round of 16 bout. He deleted his post but it has already been widely circulated in Chinese media. * * * Ryomei Tanaka guaranteed himself a medal in the men's 48 to 52-kg flyweight category on Tuesday when scored a quarterfinal win over Colombian Yuberjen Herney Martinez Rivas. * * * Tanaka defeated Martinez Rivas on a split decision at Kokugikan Arena, winning 4-1 on points to set up a meeting with Carlo Paalam of the Philippines in the semifinals on Thursday. * * * Paalam began his boxing career at the age of 12. His first international success was a bronze medal at the 2016 ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships and another bronze at the St. Petersburg 2016 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships, and at the Asian Games in 2018. * * * Paalam became an elite fighter in January 2017 and then he won the Republic of Kazakhstan President’s Cup, the Korotkov Memorial Tournament in Russia and the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament. * * * “I would not say I’m advantaged,” he was quoted by Inquirer Sports. “We both have great hands. I’ve told myself to just keep doing my best and do things my way—taking things slowly until I reach the end,” he continued with the hope of advancing to the gold medal match. "I won’t say anything more, but will finish this,” Paalam said. * * * Eumir Msrcial will face Oleksandr Khyzhniak who was the gold medalist in the middleweight class in the 2017 AIBA world boxing championships in Hamburg, Germany and was named Best Boxer in that world tournament. * * * He won the gold medal in the 2019 Minsk, Belarus and 2017 Kharkiv, Ukraine European Championships * * * Khyzhniak was the middleweight champion in the Strandja Memorial Cup three times in 2019, 2020 and 2021, all held in Sofia, Bulgaria. * * * The Strandja Memorial Cup is an international amateur boxing tournament held annually in Bulgaria. It often determines who will qualify to compete at the upcoming summer Olympic games. It is the oldest international amateur boxing competition in Europe with the first tournament held in 1950. * * * He also won the gold medal in the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus in the middleweight class and the 2012 Youth World Championships gold medal in Yerevan, Armenia. * * * He began training at age five. "I'm lucky to have been born into the family of a boxing coach. Since my father had a boxing career in the Soviet Union, I didn't choose my path. My father started to train me at an early age. He says that he saw the potential in me and wanted to pass on all his knowledge and experience," he told Skysports. * * * Oleksandr Khyzhniak Amateur record: 109 wins 13 losses 16 wins by KO World Series of Boxing record: 5 wins 3 losses 1 win by KO for the Ukraine Otamans Stance orthodox Height 5′ 11½″ (181cm) Born in Poltava, Ukraine Age 26 * * * Eumir Felix Marcial Amateur record : 70 wins 18 losses 17 wins by KO World Series of Boxing record: 1 loss to Nizar Trimech of France by unanimous decision Stance southpaw Height 5′ 8″ (173cm) Born in Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines Age 25 * * * Marcial won a silver medal in the 2019 World Championships. He won the gold medal in the 2011 Youth World Championships and in the 2020 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament. * * * In the 2018 Asian Games he grabbed a bronze. He won a silver medal in the 2015 Asian Championships and bronze medal in the 2021 Asian Championships. * * * He was a Southeast Asian Games triple gold medalist winning the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur and 2019 in the Philippines. In the 2013 Asian Youth Championships he also won the gold. * * * Nesthy Petecio settles for the silver medal following a unanimous decision loss to Sena Irie of Japan. ABAP president Ricky Vargas questioned the judges' decision and he believed Petecio gave a strong fight for the gold, but lost to hometown bet Sena Irie of Japan. * * * The Japanese kept on clinching and grappling as if it was a wrestling match to get the gold medal. All five judges favored Irie, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. * * * "The governance has improved a lot. What I cannot accept is the decision was unanimous. How can it be unanimous?" Vargas said. * * * Kevin Durant scored 29 points in the third quarter, followed by Jayson Tatum with 13 points, while Jrue Holiday added 12 points, Damian Lillard 11 and Zach LaVine 10 points as Team U.S.A. advanced to the Olympic semifinals with a 95-81 victory on Tuesday at Saitama Super Arena. * * * The U.S., three-time defending gold medalist and winner of 15 golds in 18 trips to the Olympics leading up to Tokyo, will face Australia in the semifinal Thursday. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.  |
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