Busy sked for national boxers as they prepare for Paris Games

By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA

National boxers, particularly those eyeing berths for the 2024 Paris Olympics, will have a busy year ahead as they gear up for several training camps and competitions abroad.

Among the training camps lined up for them are in Muak Lek, Thailand in February, somewhere in China in August right before the 19^th Asian Games in China, as well as either in Sheffield, United Kingdom or Colorado Springs, United States in November in preparation for the Olympic qualifying tournaments.

Boxing has been traditionally a source of gold mine in various international competitions, with Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam winning a silver each and Eumir Marcial a bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) is also planning of hosting a multi-nation training camp in preparation for the 32^nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia at the FPLA Boxing Gym in Antipolo sometime in April.

Aside from the SEA Games, which is set May 5 to 17 in Phnom Penh, and the Asian Games, on Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, boxers are also expected to see action in various international tournaments every month.

Tournaments lined up are the ASBC Asian Under 22 Boxing Championships next month in Thailand, the Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria in February, the Thailand Open International Tournament in Bangkok in March, the IBA World Men’s Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in May, the Eindhoven Cup in Netherlands in June, the ASBC Asian Clubs Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships in a still undisclosed venue;

The Elorda Cup in Kazakhstan in July, the ASBC Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships in an undisclosed venue in August, the World Combat Games and the ASBC Asian Schoolboys and Girls Boxing Championships both in Saudi Arabia in October, and The Grandslam by ASBC in China in December 2023.

The PH team also won three golds, one silver and five bronzes in the previous SEAG edition in Vietnam last May, as well as one silver and two bronzes in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.