One of three statements made at the close of the China Open boxing championships last week can, hopefully, put on track the country?s desperate quest for its first Olympic gold medal.
The statements came from three different sources.
Observes Ricky Vargas, president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP):
?I am glad I watched, it gave me an insight on what to learn and how to win.?
Says Ed Picson, ABAP executive director: ?We could have done better; at least we saw what adjustments are needed.?
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Notes Li Zhenyu, a Chinese sports journalist: ?In the rivalry with the Philippines, the world?s fastest growing force in the ring and the homeland of the world?s undisputed pound-for-pound king in boxing (Manny Pacquiao), China boxing kingpin Zou Shiming brought his fellow flyweight Rey Saludar back to school in the quarterfinals of the 3-star AIBA event in Guiyang.?
The Philippines sent seven boxers to the China tournament.
Three Filipino fighters?light flyweight Gerson Nietes, bantamweight Aston Francis Palicte and welterweight Wilfredo Lopez? managed to advance to the semifinals where they suffered severe losses.
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Sounding disappointed if not totally displeased, director Picson claimed ?those three bronzes were nothing to sneeze at.?
The top RP entry, featherweight Charly Suarez, winner of the gold medal in the Laos Southeast Asian Games, got waylaid in the second round of the tournament.
But what should surely sting on the part of the ABAP was the shutout suffered by Saludar.
As a top hope in the ABAP stable, Saludar, according to reporter Li Zhenyu, projected an unscholarly image of RP as a boxing country in that all-revealing loss to Zou Shiming.
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The sharp-eyed Chinese journalist was too kind to say it, but Saludar?s shallow stand spoke a mouthful for the program launched by the new ABAP leadership in its quest for an Olympic gold medal.
In fairness to the ABAP and its top officials, they tried to raise the RP standard for the Olympic campaign when they retired aging veterans in the stable, led by two-time Olympian Harry Ta?amor and Doha Asiad gold medalist Joan Tipon.
The ABAP is out to explore new avenues.
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But what ruefully got exposed in the China Open boxing championship was the absence of a suitable model for a successful campaign.
?They may be doing everything, they may be working very, very hard, spending fortunes, but are they following the proper winning program?? asked lawyer-sportsman Rudy Salud, founding secretary-general of the World Boxing Council.
In short, are they going all out to come up with a sure standard?
Wrote Li Zhenyu of Saludar?s effort: ?Trailing by four points, Saludar started off strong in the second round. But haste makes waste. He was countered over and over again by the masterful Chinese.?
End of report.
