By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Carlo Paalam moved onto the threshold of earning a return trip to the Olympics with a unanimous win over Jose Luis De los Santos Feliz of the Dominican Republic that advanced him to the semifinal round in the men’s 57kg of the 2nd World Boxing Qualification for Paris Games late Friday, May 31, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Unlike in the previous bout where the Tokyo Games silver medalist had to withstand the fierce challenge of Armenia’s Artur Bazeyan to eke out a thrilling 4-1 win, Paalam, this time, earned the nod of the five judges, what with booming shots landing clearly to the head and body.
Three judges had it 29-28 decision while the two others gave scores of 30-27—all in favor of Paalam, whose triumph set him up a meeting with Sachin Siwach of India.
While he was brilliant in his win over Feliz and Bazeyan, Paalam should raise his game to another level when he faces the unpredictable Indian fighter in the Final Four where the winner is assured of a slot to the Paris Games.
The two are scheduled to meet Saturday night.
Actually, the 25-year-old Bukidnon has two chances to make it to the global sporting spectacle – one is, of course, to beat Siwach.
If he loses to his Indian rival, Paalam should make sure he would end up victorious against the loser in the match between Munarkbek Seiitbek Uulu of Kyrgyzstan and Aider Abduraimov of Ukraine to claim the third and final berth.
Sachin, a World Youth Champion and a 2019 South Asian Games gold medalist, outpointed France’s Samuel Kistohurry, 4-1, to secure a berth in the semis.
A victory by Paalam over Sachin would book him a ticket to Paris, where he hopes to take the gold this time after settling for the silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo edition.
With the Indian standing at 5-foot-8, the 5-foot-4 Paalam should employ a hit-and-run tactic – not to mention to be smart enough in dealing with an equally tough opponent.
Seiitbek Uulo was coming off a 3-1 victory over Shamil Askerov of Azerbaijan, while Abduraimov whipped Germany’s Denis Bril, 4-0, to advance to the Final Four.
Meanwhile, Bacyadan battles Veronika Nakota of Hungary at press time with high hopes of moving into the quarterfinals of the women’s 75kgs.
A win for Bacyadan against Nakota, who fought for Ukraine but transferred to Hungary in the aftermath of the Russian invasion, would keep her within reach of clinching one of four slots at stake to the Paris Games.
