BEIJING ? Finally, Harry Ta?amor goes to the big dance, carrying not only his dreams, but also that of his nations hungry for a win, any win, to break out of a rut in these Olympic Games where Filipinos have not only been losing but losing badly.
Ta?amor, in his final Olympics, battles Ghana?s Manyo Plange in one of the last boxing matches of the evening Wednesday at the Workers? Gymnasium to open his campaign in the 48kg division.
Also seeing action in what is a relatively heavy schedule for the puny Philippine team are archer Mark Javier and swimmers Miguel Molina and Christel Simms.
Ta?amor is about half a kilo overweight 24 hours before the fight, but Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) president Manny Lopez assured that it?s not a problem and the boxer can easily make the weight with no physical deterioration.
“I was told by the Cuban boxing coach not to worry, to relax and not be nervous,” Lopez said.
“The coach said he has prepared the boxer well,” Lopez said quoting Enrique Steyners Tissert, one of two Cuban mentors under the PSC payroll.
Ta?amor had been controlling his weight by eating fruits and very light meals as advised by Tissert and Filipino coach Pat Gaspi, Lopez said.
Ta?amor had one last workout Tuesday, a light one, during which he tried to simulate the conditions of his coming fights by practicing them late in the early evening which is the schedule for the rest of his matches except the finals which will be in the afternoon, should he get there.
Boxing officials are confident he can survive Plange, a journeyman from Ghana who they believe would be deficient technically although he is the African light fly champion.
Despite his varied international experience, Ta?amor said he hasn?t fought Plange and will be as clueless as the Ghanaian when the two collide at around 7:30 p.m.
“We are not taking this fight lightly,” assured Lopez who has been under pressure from friends and foes alike to lift amateur boxing from the doldrums.
Boxing has been one of the best-financed sports associations, supported lavishly by big corporations, but it has not delivered of late and it reached a new low when only Ta?amor qualified to compete in Beijing.
So it is not only Ta?amor who is under the microscope, but also Lopez who must bring home a medal to silence his critics and preserve his ABAP leadership.
In that sense, Lopez is also nervous and having sleepless nights as the fight nears.
If Ta?amor beats Plange, up next is either Redouane Bouchtouk of Morocco or Paulo Carvalho of Brazil. These two clash in another late match Wednesday.
Lopez believes Ta?amor has good chance to beat either, especially if he wins against Plange.
“A victory in his opening fight will give Ta?amor confidence,” Lopez said.
But the fight after that, Ta?amor?s third, assuming he got past the first two, will be tricky. It could be a Russian, a Ukrainian, a Cuban or a Tajikistani, all world-class fighters.
“We are actually not looking beyond our first fight,” Lopez said. “We try to take it one bout at a time.”
Meanwhile, archer Javier resumes his adventure when he faces Taiwan?s Kuo Cheng Wei in the knockout phase of the men?s individual competition.
Javier, who had the privilege of having President Arroyo as audience during his qualification round last Saturday, is ranked 36th and goes up against Kuo who is at 29th.
A win, which would be considered an upset, would put him in the round of 32.
In swimming, Molina seeks to break his national record when he swims in the 200m individual medley. Molina, whose record is 2min, 03.22 seconds, will swim in heat 2.
Michael Phelps of the US holds the world and Olympic records of 1:27.57 and 1:29.37, respectively.
Christel Simms, the 18-year-old Fil-American will compete in the women?s 100 freestyle, also in heat 2.
She will be hoping to better her best time of 57.17 seconds. The world record is 52.88 seconds and the Olympic record is 53.52 seconds.
