Olympian boxer Mark Anthony Barriga said that his failure to win a medal in the recent Olympics would not stop him from competing for his country.
Barriga, 19, along with his coach Roel Velasco and Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) Executive Director Ed Picson arrived in Manila yesterday from London.
?Mark is very patriotic when it comes to competing for his country and he guaranteed us that the failure in the Olympics won?t stop him,? said Picson. ?He is okay now. Everybody is disappointed with the judges? decision but he?s okay now.?
Barriga easily won his first bout against Italian Manuel Cappai, 17-7, but failed to enter the round-of-6 after absorbing a controversial 17-16 loss from Kazakhstan?s Birzhan Zhakypov.
?Mark is very young and ABAP has many plans for him. With the Rio 2016 Olympics still very far, he could still mature a lot and improve. He has all the potential to succeed,? Picson said.
