Philippines pulls out of Thai boxing tournament
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines pulled out of the Asian Youth Championships set in Bangkok, Thailand due to the political tension there, the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) announced Friday.
The ABAP executives made the decision to skip the tournament slated January 24-31 after the Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday raised Alert Level 2 over Thailand.
The Thai government had declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding provinces.
“While we hope that our apprehensions are eventually proven unfounded, we choose to be safe rather than sorry. These are young boys aged 17-18 years old and we cannot risk their safety,” said Ricky Vargas, ABAP president, in a statement.
The ABAP delegation is composed of light flyweight Dannel Maamo, flyweight Hipolito Banal, bantamweight Presco Carcosia and welterweight Sammy Bernabe Jr., coaches Romeo Brin and Ronald Chavez, and headed by ABAP executive director Ed Picson.
The tournament was aimed at getting the Filipino boxers ready for World Youth Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria this April, the qualifying event for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China in August.
“We’ll have to look for another foreign trip for the boys to give them exposure before Bulgaria,” Vargas also said.
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