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Nat’l boxers assured of support until Paris Olympics

By Jean Malanum

November 14, 2022, 9:10 pm

<p><strong>SPECIAL GUESTS.</strong> National boxers Hergie Bacyadan, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam (3rd to 5th from left) pay a courtesy call on Philippine Sports Commission officials at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila on Monday (Nov. 14, 2022). PSC Chair Noli Eala (6th from left) vows to support the boxers all the way to the 2024 Paris Olympics. <em>(Contributed photo)</em></p>

SPECIAL GUESTS. National boxers Hergie Bacyadan, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam (3rd to 5th from left) pay a courtesy call on Philippine Sports Commission officials at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila on Monday (Nov. 14, 2022). PSC Chair Noli Eala (6th from left) vows to support the boxers all the way to the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Contributed photo)

MANILA – The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Monday promised to support the national boxers all the way to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Noli Eala, PSC Chair, made the commitment during the courtesy call of Asian Elite Boxing Championship gold medalist Carlo Paalam and bronze medalists Nesthy Petecio and Hergie Bacyadan at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

The boxers were accompanied by Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) president Ed Picson and secretary general Marcus Jarwin Manalo.

“We are in full support of our national boxers all the way to Paris Olympics," Eala said in a statement. "We've already discussed the plans with ABAP as to how we can level up the support and programs for our elite athletes."

Aside from funding the team's training and foreign trips next year, the PSC will study the possibility of building a team composed of coaches and sports science experts, similar to what the agency created for Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz and World No. 3 pole vaulter EJ Obiena.

He told Paalam, Petecio and Bacyadan to never give up on their dreams of winning the Olympic gold.

Kahit na nandon na kayo sa taas ng tagumpay, ‘wag kayong bibitaw. Ganun pa rin ang level ng gutom and motivation na manalo. Ang panalo nyo, ay panalo ng buong bayan (Even if you are in the peak of success, don't let go. The level of hunger and motivation to win should be the same. Your victory is also the victory of the whole country),” Eala said.

Petecio, an Olympic silver medalist also in Tokyo, said they will continue their sacrifices for the country’s glory.

The national boxers will take a break and resume their training on Dec. 4.

“Our boxers have a nice facility in Baguio, which we thank the PSC for. We are making that sacrifice now, in the lead up to tournaments happening as early as February next year, prior to the [May 2023] Cambodia Southeast Asian Games, and eventually to Paris,” Picson said. (PNA)



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