CARLO Paalam failed to win the Philippines’ first ever gold medal in boxing after losing to Great Britain’s Galal Yafai on points in the Men’s Flyweight division finals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, at the Kokugikan Hall in Tokyo.
Paalam looked really sharp in the opening round but a four-punch combination by Yafai dropped him to the canvass that lost him the round.
Paalam did a better job in second round consistently landing that lead left hook. Majority of the judges, however, gave that second round again to Yafai.
Paalam felt the sense of urgency and was very aggressive in the third round. The 23-year-old former scavenger was looking for a knockout and was doing a good job landing his combinations.
Paalam’s effort wasn’t enough though as the 28-year-old Yafai got the nod of four of the five judges.
Azerbaijani judge Anar Babanli, Moroccan judge Makfouni Abdellatif, Tajik judge Mansur Muhiddinov and Australian judge Carl Ruhen scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Yafai, while Peruvian judge Miguel Anco Bobadilla scored it 29-28 for Paalam.
Paalam won the Philippines its fourth medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the best performance of the country since its debut in 1924.
Paalam joined fellow boxers Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Marcal and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz as the Philippines’ medalists for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Diaz won the Philippines’ first ever gold medal, Petecio bagged a silver medal, while Marcial got a bronze.
Paalam had an impressive run in his Olympic debut. He beat Irish Brendan Irvine on a 4-1 decision in the Round of 32, outclassed two-time Olympian Mohamed Flissi by unanimous decision in the Round of 16, upset 2016 Rio Olympics and AIBA World Boxing Championships gold medalist Shakhobidin Zoirov by technical decision and dominated Japanese Ryomei Tanaka by a convincing decision.
Meanwhile, Filipina golfers Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan failed to win medals in Women’s Golf.
Saso finished in ninth place with a total of 274, while Pagdanganan ended up at 43rd with a total of 285. (EKA)