Philippines eyes 3 more boxers in Tokyo Olympics

MANILA, Philippines – Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Ricky Vargas said he is looking at three more Filipino boxers qualifying to the Tokyo Olympics next year alongside Eumir Felix Marcial and Irish Magno.

Vargas said there is a big chance the country can end up having a total of five pugs to Tokyo, especially now that all were given extra time to prepare after the quadrennial summer games was reset from this year to the next due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Hopefully, we can qualify five. This is going to be a bountiful crop, this could be our best chance of winning a gold,” said Vargas.

Vargas mentioned Nesthy Petecio as the one with the highest opportunity of qualifying despite missing the cut in the Olympic qualifier in Amman, Jordan last March.

The other national teams he mentioned with a realistic chance of booking a ticket to Tokyo were Carlo Paalam, Rogen Ladon and Ian Clark Bautista.

“Nesthy (Petecio) has a 90% chance to qualify because she’s really eager to qualify and redeem herself. She’s very focused,” said Vargas.

Meanwhile, Magno and Petecio on Wednesday arrived from Baguio where they were stranded for months due to strict government quarantine protocols to the PhilSports Complex in Pasig City, where they will be quarantined for a few days before they head home to their respective provinces.

Both Magno, who is from Iloilo, and Petecio, who hails from Davao, gave up their Christmas vacation to train for the Olympic qualifier in Amman before being stuck in Baguio.

“I still have no flight details but I desperately want to go home, I miss my family,” said Petecio in Filipino. “But I will continue to train there with my father (Teodoro) as my coach.”

Vargas said Magno and Petecio also plan to do charity work back home.

“They’re training and helping the community. They very admirable, not looking at themselves,” said Vargas.