Suarez not giving up – not yet

RIO DE JANEIRO – Charly Suarez, a bright medal hope for the Philippines in this Rio Olympics, thinks he did enough to win his match Saturday.

But the judges felt the other way, and awarded the victory to Joseph Cordina of Great Britain, quashing Suarez’ medal hopes.

It was Suarez’ first stint in the Olympics, one that did not last long.

The 27-year-old boxer, a devout Christian, said there’s no point blaming anybody for the loss. It’s just that he couldn’t help but think how things went.

“I’ve accepted the loss,” he said.

“Of course, it hurts because this is the Olympics. But I’m a Christian. Otherwise, I would have cried and cried or jumped off that balcony,” said Suarez.

It was close to midnight Saturday inside the Athletes Village, and Suarez, who will celebrate his 28th birthday on Aug. 14, was alone in the balcony of his unit here.

A reporter came up to him and asked if it was okay to talk.

“It’s okay, sir,” he said.

“I gave my best. Even my coach thinks I won. Even the volunteers in our dressing room. Even the coaches from the other countries,” he said.

“I know I gave my best in training and pushed harder inside the ring. But the judges chose the other boxer. I take the loss with all my heart.”

He gave credit to his opponent for putting up a good fight.

“He’s a good boxer. He’s tall and he fights long,” said the bible-preaching boxer.

At his age, one might look at this Olympics as Suarez’ first and last. But he said it all depends on what the Lord wants.

“His plans are always better than ours. If by 2020 (Tokyo Olympics) I’m still fit and good enough to fight, then I can be competing again here,” he said.

Before the start of the fight, Suarez and Cordina touched gloves, and the Filipino said something to the British fighter.

“You know what I told him? I told him ‘Jesus loves you.’ He was surprised to hear that,” said Suarez, a silver medalist in the Asian Games.

There are athletes, Suarez said, who win an Olympic gold in their second attempt. That’s why if given the chance, he won’t hesitate.

“Maybe now is not my time yet,” he said.