THAILAND appears to be fast becoming the bane of Philippine boxing, both in the professional and amateur ranks.
A month after a Thai newspaper floated news about Doha Asiad gold medalists Joan Tipon and Violito Payla using banned substance en route to the gold medal, organizers of the 29th King’s Cup International Amateur Boxing Championships derailed the participation of the Philippine team in the multi-nation event set April 4-10 in Bangkok.
Saying the entry forms were late, the organizers told the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) yesterday that its boxers could no longer be accommodated.
The ABAP had planned to send Payla, Tipon, Genebert Basadre, Harry Ta?amor, Delfin Boholst, Wilfredo Lopez and Charlie Suarez to compete in the event considered one of the most prestigious in Asia.
The refusal of the Thai organizers accept the entries came on the heels of a directive by the Games and Amusement Board banning local professional boxers from fighting in Thailand after the death of Lito Sisnorio last Saturday.
“Sinauli nila ang application namin kasi late na raw. Nakakapagtaka kasi dati naman tinatanggap nila ‘yung mga last-minute application,” RP head coach Patricio Gaspin said while stressing that the entry forms were submitted to the Thais as early as two weeks ago.
Gaspi suspects that the Thais could be trying to derail the training of the national team for the coming Southeast Asian Games which Thailand is hosting in December. The RP team is also preparing for the World Championship in Russia this September. The World Championship is one of the qualifying tournaments for the Beijing Olympics.
The Filipino coach added that the Thais could also be trying to avoid possible losses to the Filipinos.
“Sa opinion ko, baka siguro mapahiya na naman sila dahil sa mga medal predictions na hindi na nila natutupad. Ang mga boksingero natin kasi unti-unti nang umaangat,” said Gaspi.
In the last SEA Games hosted by the Philippines, Filipino men and women boxers snared eight gold medals to win the overall championship although the Thais kept the men’s title with four gold medals against the Filipinos’ three.
In the last Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, Tipon and Payla gave the Philippines two gold medals while the Thais, who predicted at least six gold medals, brought home only one.
Despite the minor setback in the preparation of the national squad with the botched participation in the King’s Cup, Gaspi said that this will not have a major effect in the training since more international tournaments are lined up for the boxers, including the Ahmert Comert Cup in Istanbul, Turkey in May.
Albert Fabila (light flyweight), Froilan Saludar (fly), and Basadre (light) recently won gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively in the 1st International Senior Boxing Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan.
