Not close to medal, Part 3

In this column of last Friday and Sunday, we reviewed the performance of eight of the 12 Filipino athletes who failed to bring home a medal from the Rio Olympics. We recapped how Eric Cray, Marestella Torres, Mary Joy Tabal, Ian Lariba, Nestor Colonia, Jessie Lacuna, Jasmine Alkhaldi and Kodo Nakano were not even close to gaining a podium finish.

Cray managed to advance to the semifinals in the 400-meter hurdles but finished No. 17 of 24 qualifiers. His time of 49.37 seconds was way below the 48.64 mark that was the slowest of the eight finalists. Colonia failed to score in his last five lifts and stumbled out of the platform on shaky legs. He collapsed in the dressing room, suffering from a momentary lack of oxygen in the brain due to the strain and anxiety of trying to carry the weights. Tabal pushed herself to the limit in women’s marathon and after crossing the finish line, officials brought out a wheelchair as she was almost out on her feet with exhaustion. She was No. 124 of 133 finishers.

In boxing, lightweight Charly Suarez, 27, didn’t make it past his first bout. He drew Welsh hero Joe Cordina and lost a split decision. The Turkish judge saw it 29-28 for Suarez but the Moroccan judge had it 29-28 and the Uzbek judge a 30-27 shutout for Cordina. ABAP executive director Ed Picson said he thought Suarez won the first two rounds and deserved the verdict. But the judges weren’t impressed with Suarez’s impersonation of Manny Pacquiao.

John Dennen, writing in Boxing News, summarized the fight: “The Filipino struck him with a good right hand but he didn’t shift Joe from the center of the ring. Cordina made sure of his win in the last round. He chopped in shots, switched his footing. Suarez leapt in with a left hook but Cordina scored with lovely clear jabs, finding his rhythm.”

Both Suarez and Cordina were Olympic first-timers. Before the tournament, Cordina said he had the experience to win with over 150 fights under his belt. “I’m pretty experienced as a boxer and I just see it as another tournament,” he said. “I’ve got that tunnel vision. I just want that gold medal and that’s all I want.” Cordina, however, didn’t go far in Rio. After barely beating Suarez, he was eliminated by Uzbekistan’s Hurshid Tojibaev.

Lightflyweight boxer Rogen Ladon also didn’t survive his first Olympic test, bowing to Colombia’s Yurberjen Martinez who wound up with the silver medal. Ladon drew a bye in the first round and needed only two wins for a sure bronze. But alas, the Bago City fighter couldn’t even book a win.

Ladon, 22, was a ghost of his old self against Martinez. Picson couldn’t explain the disappearance. “Anyone who knows how Rogen fights will tell you it was a different Rogen in Rio,” he said. “Even the trainers who worked with him in the US messaged me asking what happened.  Our sports psychologist (Marcus Manalo) watched the fight on TV in Manila then texted wondering the same thing.”

Perhaps, Ladon was overwhelmed by the Olympic moment. Or maybe, he was burned out. Clearly, he was not in condition to give his best and it’s an issue that must be addressed. Was it a mental or a physical problem? Or was it both? The failure of Suarez and Ladon to even crank out a win in Rio was a disappointment considering how hard it took for both fighters to qualify. The POC, PSC and ABAP gave their full support to the boxers but they weren’t rewarded with a medal, in fact, not even a win.

Golfer Miguel Tabuena, 21, got off to a promising start in the front nine of the first round, locked in a seven-way tie for ninth just four shots off the pace with a two-under performance. Then, he crumbled in the back nine, registering five bogeys, three pars and a birdie to fall in a tie for No. 42 among 60 starters from 34 countries. Tabuena shot a two-over-par 73 in the first round then dropped to a four-over 75 in the second as he began to show signs of slowing down due to a shoulder strain. He carded another two-over 73 in the third round and seriously considered withdrawing. Chinese-Taipei’s Lin Wen Tang backed out after two rounds so Tabuena wouldn’t have been the only dropout.

Despite the pain in his shoulder, Tabuena refused to give up. That’s always been his trademark – guts. Tabuena showed it in claiming the silver at the 2010 Asian Games when he was only 16. In the last round, Tabuena finally broke par and scored a one-under 70 with five birdies and four bogeys. Tabuena saved his best for last even as he struggled with pain, exiting with head unbowed. He finished with a seven-over 291 for No. 53 in the standings. Great Britain’s Justin Rose took the gold medal with a 16-under 268. Although he put up a heroic effort, Tabuena wasn’t close to making a run for a medal.

Then, there was taekwondo jin Kirstie Elaine Alora, 26. She was the last seed of 16 competitors and lost, 4-1, to No. 1 Maria Espinoza of Mexico in her first match of the +67 kilogram division. Espinoza, 28, won the Olympic gold in 2008 and bronze in 2012 so this was her third Olympic appearance. In the repechage, Alora battled Morocco’s Wiam Dislam who towered over her at 5-11. Dislam zoomed to a 3-0 edge then Alora tied it, 3-all, before moving up front, 5-4, with 20 seconds left. Dislam regained the lead, 7-5 and withstood a kick to the head in the dying seconds. Alora’s coach Roberto Cruz availed of his privilege to challenge as he insisted the kick should’ve registered three points. The video replay, however, showed the kick grazed the left side of Dislam’s headguard and wasn’t a direct hit to the face. So the score was upheld and Dislam advanced to the bronze medal match which she lost, 7-1, to Great Britain’s Bianca Walkden. That ended the Philippines’ campaign in Rio.