The lone Pinoy champion in Kazahkstan boxing tourney

CARLO Paalam, 19, the youngest of the Philippine National Boxing Team that competed in the highly-prestigious President's Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan, foiled the host nation's bid to sweep the tournament by winning the gold medal in the 49 kilogram light flyweight class Saturday evening.

Paalam, a protégé of Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno, who nurtured the fighter from the time he was 9 years old, was the only foreign entry to win a gold medal in the tournament dominated by Kazakhstan. He won on points against hometown boy Askhat Zhusupov.

The host country took 12 of the 13 gold medals in the tournament.

The other powerhouse teams, Uzbekistan, Russia, India and Korea could only manage one silver medal each.

Veteran Mario Fernandez, a Philippine Air Force soldier from Bukidnon and 2015 Southeast Asia Games gold medalist, garnered a silver medal after bowing to World Series of Boxing and AIBA Pro Boxing mainstay Ilyas Suleymenov, also of Kazakhstan. Suleymenov represented his country in the 2012 London Olympics.

In the quarterfinals, Fernandez scored one of the few knockout victories in the tournament, decking a South Korean in the first round.

In the distaff side, 2014 World Championship silver medalist Nesthy Petecio of Davao del Sur, lost a close 3-2 decision in the semifinals to still another Kazakh, Rimma Volosenko, to win bronze.

Abap president Ricky Vargas sent a congratulatory message to the team and in particular to Paalam who he described as "the future of Philippine boxing. Stay focused, disciplined and determined and the future is yours. Good job!" said the PLDT executive.

Abap sports psychologist Marcus Manalo, Philippine delegation head, observed that "this was a tough tournament with a lot of experienced and respected boxers so all things considered, we performed extremely well."

Coaches were Pat Gaspi, Romeo Brin and Roel Velasco. Other members of the team were Ian Clark Bautista, Joel Bacho and Irish Magno.

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