Pinay pugs out of world quarters

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines failed to advance a single fighter at the AIBA World Women’s Championships at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium in Delhi, India, ending the tournament with three wins and five losses in a disappointing setback that will mean rebuilding the ABAP national female pool through a more focused recruitment program.

The Philippine delegation, led by team manager/nutritionist Jeaneth Aro, returns to Manila on Sunday at the close of the competitions. In the quarterfinals, 80 fighters from 33 countries – 11 from Asia – made it. China had nine qualifiers, India eight, Kazakhstan five, North Korea three, Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Chinese-Taipei two each and Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia one each.

Lightflyweight (45-48 kg) Josie Gabuco, 31, outpointed Russia’s Ekaterina Paltseva, 5-0, in her first fight then lost a 4-1 decision to China’s Wu Yu. Bantamweight (51 kg) Irish Magno, 27, pounded out a 3-2 split decision over Bulgaria’s Yana Burym but bowed out in her second bout, losing a 4-1 verdict to China’s Chang Yuan. Featherweight (54 kg) Aira Villegas, 23, stopped Bangladesh’s Shamima Akter at 2:09 of the second round then exited on a disputed 3-2 decision from Thailand’s 35-year-old Olympian Peamwilai Laopeam. Lightweight (57 kg) Nesthy Petecio, 26, pummeled Colombia’s Yeni Marcela Arias Castenada to a standing eight-count in the first round but failed to sustain the momentum in dropping a surprising 5-0 decision. Finally, lightwelterweight (60 kg) Carolyn Calungsod, 19, was thrashed by Canada’s Caroline Veyre via a lopsided 5-0 verdict.

Gabuco, who underwent an appendectomy late last July and came back from a 10-week layoff, tried to revive the form that brought her a gold medal at the 2012 World Championships but couldn’t get it done. Argentine judge Manuel Vilarino saw Gabuco on top, 29-28, over Wu but three other judges had it 30-27 and another, 29-28 the other way. Villegas’ loss was a heartbreaker as two judges scored it, 29-28, for her but three others gave it to Laopeam by the same count.

Petecio, a silver medalist at the 2014 World Championships, landed more telling punches than Castenada but the Colombian was busier even if her blows were mostly glancing. “Nesthy was surprised by the decision,” said Aro. “She actually thought she won. She threw clear punches and Castenada was even given a standing eight-count. She was saddened by the decision because she knew they did all the necessary preparations for the tournament and the coaches (Boy Velasco and Rey Galido) were as dedicated as they were.”

Aro said despite the disappointing finish, she credited the five fighters for giving their best. “We cannot allow the situation to get inside our head,” she said. “Sa laro ng boxing, minsan ang kalaban ay wala sa loob ng ring.  We may not be bringing home a medal but we are going home with additional lessons and learnings to work on. Kahit paano, nagsilbing assessment itong World Championships sa level of skills, fitness and sportsmanship ng women’s team natin. Hopefully, kung ano man ang mga mistakes na nangyari dito at ma-improve sa susunod ng mga laro specially for the 2019 SEA Games and 2020 Tokyo qualifiers. We have to move on and move forward.”

ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson said the national pool of eight women’s boxers has to be reinforced. “I’ve instructed coach Boy and coach Rey to look for more potentials,” he said. “We can’t expect them to come to us, we’ve got to go to them. We noticed just a few women’s boxers participated in the recent regionals. We’ve got to draw them out, to explain what they can gain from joining, to train them and make them competitive. We’ve been informed that there are prospects in Ormoc and Bago City. We’re going there to find them.”