PH Olympic medal drought persists
By Ted S. MelendresBMX rider Daniel Caluag’s incredibly hollow pledge of a fight could well mirror the Philippines’ ignominious campaign at the 30th London Olympics here.
BMX rider Daniel Caluag’s incredibly hollow pledge of a fight could well mirror the Philippines’ ignominious campaign at the 30th London Olympics here.
As he licked his wounds following his controversial loss in the round of 16 of the boxing competitions in the 30th Olympic Games here, Mark Anthony Barriga started plotting his Olympic comeback with the help of officials and supporters.
Judging from the scandals that have rocked the boxing competitons of the London Olympic Games, the so-called Mafia in international boxing is apparently still around, and Kazakhstan is now among the “Lords of the Ring.”
IT was, in most fields in London, higher, faster and stronger. But, in the boxing ring, it was definitely dirtier.
With the flabbergasting exit of boxer Mark Anthony Barriga, only three more Filipinos remained to fight for the embattled contingent at the 30th London Olympics here.
Despite his elimination from the London Olympics following a razor-thin loss against a much taller opponent, Mark Anthony Barriga could still expect a hero’s welcome when he returns to his hometown Panabo City in Davao del Norte.
The referee dealt a lethal blow to Mark Barriga’s Olympic dream on Saturday, but it was the jury, which drove the last nail on the coffin of the Philippines’ one and only hope for a boxing medal in the 39th Olympic Games in London.
There are a few things more heartbreaking for a mother than to witness her boy lose in the biggest contest of his life.
Despite his elimination from the London Olympics following a razor-thin loss against a much taller opponent, Mark Anthony Barriga could still expect a hero’s welcome in his hometown Panabo City, Davao del Norte.
Members of the tiny Philippine delegation were on pins and needles on a chilly Saturday afternoon here as light flyweight Mark Anthony Barriga prepared to climb the ring for his second-round fight with a Kazakh foe at the 30th London Olympics here.
The morning before Mark Anthony Barriga was to go up the ring against Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov in the round of 16 of the London Olympics boxing competition, two officials of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines were among the many Filipinos scrambling for tickets to the ExCel South Arena.
Ranged against the world’s best, Mark Anthony Barriga, a whirlwind of a fighter from Panabo, near Davao City, is making inroads. He zapped his taller Italian foe to barge into the round of 16 in the light flyweight category of the Olympic boxing matches.
Mark Anthony Barriga takes the next step to his Olympic dream on Saturday armed with advice from two of his biggest supporters.
