ABAP president Marcus Manalo acknowledged the added satisfaction of seeing Carlo Paalam beat China’s Jiamao Zhang, but stopped short of saying the Filipino boxer entered the bout with geopolitics in mind.
Paalam edged Zhang via split decision Monday at Nishio City General Gymnasium to secure a place in the men’s 55kgs semifinals of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Asked whether Paalam had additional motivation because of the matchup with China, Manalo said, “I’m not sure if he’s thinking about that. But of course, it’s always nice to beat China in a competition.”
Paalam himself also acknowledged the significance of the victory, particularly amid discussions surrounding the West Philippine Sea.
“Siyempre, sobrang thankful. Pag-usapan iyung Philippine Sea, thankful po ako na nanalo tayo,” Paalam said.
The victory sends Paalam into the medal round as he continues his bid to improve on his 2018 Asian Games bronze.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist will next face Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan, whom he previously defeated via split decision in the 2022 Asian Elite Boxing Championships.
But Paalam is keeping his focus on preparation rather than relying on their previous meeting.
“Lahat naman kami dito preparado. Lahat kami nag-i-improve, so gagawin ko iyung best sa laban. ’Yun ang sabi ko palagi, si God na hinihingi ko sa kanya ng guide, tapos ako na bahala sa ring,” said Carlo.
With a medal already secured, Paalam now moves one win away from reaching the Asian Games gold-medal bout. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
