Promising boxer Carlo Paalam recently bid goodbye to being a youth fighter after being elevated to the elite level of the Philippine team, the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap) reported yesterday.
Now that he has joined the men’s squad, the Cagayan de Oro native says it’ll be a matter of time before he makes the firs step towards his ultimate dream: A gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“Bata pa lang ako ‘yan na ang nasa aking isip…ang manalo ng Olympic gold (medal),” said Paalam, whose inclusion means that standard-bearer Rogen Ladon will have to deal with him when they fight for slots in overseas competitions.
The Abap is focusing on two major meets this year: The 29th Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia from Aug. 19-31 and the world championships in Germany from Aug. 25 to Sept. 3.
Since the two events are intertwined, the Abap will send two separate teams, giving Paalam a chance to either wind up participating in Kuala Lumpur or Hamburg.
National coaches Nolito Velasco, Pat Gaspi and Ronald Chavez are already in the process of discussing the plans for the two slugfests.
But even before that, the boxers will have to make the grade in the Asian Championships in May in Indonesia to determine who advances to Germany.
Velasco and the rest of the coaching staff are currently holed up in Baguio as they supervise the training of the entire pool that also includes national team standouts Charly Suarez, Ian Clark Bautista, Mario Fernandez, Felix Eumir Marcial and Ladon, of course.
Last year, injuries struck the many members but Suarez has recovered from a jaw injury, while Fernandez has hurdled his eye problems. Even Marcial’s fragile hands have healed.
The boxers’ first foreign trip is expected to take place by March or April.
