Irish Magno recalls out-of-body experience in Olympic qualifier

MANILA, Philippines — Irish Magno is the first-ever female Filipino boxer to qualify for the Olympics after punching her way to Tokyo 2020.

But when asked about that fateful box-off with Tajikistan's Sumaiya Qosimova in Amman, Jordan last March, Magno can hardly give a description of what transpired that led her to an Olympic berth.

Speaking on Tiebreaker Vods' So She Did while at the "Calambubble" at the INSPIRE Sports Academy, Magno recalled that fight as an out-of-body experience.

"Sobrang kinabahan ako... Pero hindi ko inisip yung kaba, gusto ko makapagperform parin ng maayos [at] maganda kasi pinaghandaan namin yun," said Magno.

"Hindi ko na alam yung nangyari sa taas ng ring, sa isip ko po gumagalaw ako, yun pala hindi. Iba pala yung nangyayari... hindi ko po maexplain," she continued.

Despite the blur of it all, however, it was clear as day for the judges just how great Magno was — after all, she was declared the winner via unanimous decision.

And regardless of whether she remembered how exactly she qualified for the quadriennial event, Magno is sure of one thing — she wanted it more than ever.