ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan – Muay Thai bet Phillip Delarmino punched his ticket to the final after scoring a 30-27 win over Rusdem Bayramdurdyyew of Turkmenistan in their -57kg semifinals encounter in the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) Wednesday here.
Delarmino, the 26-year-old fighter from Iloilo City, won in all three rounds – a strategy he and national team coach Billy Alumno designed against a very aggressive foe in Bayramdurdyyew.
Delarmino will next face Thailand’s Chotichanin Kokkrachai, who advanced to the championship match by scoring a similar 30-27 victory over Almaz Sarsembekov of Kazakhstan.
The gold medal game is scheduled Thursday evening at the Muay Thai Arena.
A silver medal winner in the Asian Beach Games in 2014 and during the 2013 Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar, Delarmino’s counter kicks and punches got through on several occasions when the Turkmen tried to attack him with punches of his own.
“Nahirapan din ako sa kalaban ko, pero effective naman yung game plan namin ni coach (Alumno),” said Delarmino.
“Napag-aralan namin dahil sa last two fights ko ganun lang plano ko… clear na kunin namin every round.”
“Mahirap kasi kung dumikit ang laban tapos ang kalaban host country pa,” Delarmino added.
In a sport that originated in Thailand, Delarmino understands that he is the underdog in the finals against his Thai rival, but he said that he is prepared to face Kokkrachai in their championship match.
“Nakita na namin mga laban nya (Kokkrachai), meron kaming gameplan para sa kanya. Kaya naman, Sana makuha natin yung gold sa finals,” said Delarmino, who competed in the Muay World Games in Poland last August.
