Carlo Paalam advances to medal round of Olympic qualifiers

Filipino slugger needs one more win to punch a ticket to Paris

Filipino boxer Carlo Paalam is just one win away from earning  ticket to the Paris Olympics. | Olympics website photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines– Carlo Paalam pulled himself closer to earning a spot to the Paris Games after advancing to the medal round of the ongoing 2nd World Boxing Qualification Tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday evening, May 31.

Paalam, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist outclassed Jose Luis de lo Santos of the Dominican Republic for a lopsided 5-0 victory in their quarterfinals showdown under the men’s 57 kg division on Friday evening.

The 25-year-old Carlo Paalam, a two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist who hails from Talakag, Bukidnon is one of the two Filipino boxers who are gunning for the last remaining tickets to the Paris Olympics.

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Paalam beats Armenian, moves closer for Olympics ticket

Carlo Paalam one win away from Paris Olympics berth

To recall, Paalam defeated Artur Bazeyan of Armenia by split decision, 4-1, in their round of 16 match, earning him a quarterfinals berth against de los Santos.

With the victory, Paalam will face India’s Sachin Sachin in the semifinals which will happen later today,  Saturday, June 1.

Sachin advanced to the semifinals after besting French hope Samuel Kistohurry, 4-1, in their quarterfinal duel.

Carlo Paalam needs to beat Sachin to qualify for the Olympics since only three slots are available in the men’s 57 kg division. It means that only the gold, silver, and bronze medalists will earn a ticket to Paris which will host the quadrennial Games this August.

Meanwhile, Filipina boxer Hergie Bacyadan is scheduled to fight Veronika Nakota in the women’s middleweight (75 kg) division.

Currently, there are 13 Filipinos who already qualified for the Olympics. Three of them are from the counytr’s powerhouse boxing team including Eumir Marcial, Aira Villegas, and Nesthy Petecio.

The rest are  EJ Obiena (pole vault), Samantha Catantan (fencing), Carlos Yulo (gymnastics), Alleah Finnegan (gymnastics), Emma Malabuyo (gymnastics), Levi Ruivivar (gymnastics), Joanie Delgado (rowing), John Febuar Ceniza (weightlifting), Elreen Ando (weightlifting), and Vanessa Sarno (weightlifting).