SEA Games: Paalam gets redemption as he wins first boxing gold

Carlo Paalam gets the gold medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games. INQUIRER Photo/Sherwin Vardeleon

MANILA, Philippines—Carlo Paalam captured his career’s first gold medal after a unanimous decision win over Indonesia’s Kornelis Langu in the boxing men’s light flyweight final of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Paalam, who suffered a controversial defeat in the 2017 SEA Games, left no stones unturned to get his redemption this time. He was on fire against Langu, peppering the Indonesian throughout the bout.

Although he was still wary of Langu, who has already competed in the Olympics, Paalam was still able to break his opponent’s guard with stiff jabs and left crosses.

“I’m really happy because I got robbed in Malaysia so I thank the Lord for giving me the strength atop the ring,” said Paalam in Filipino.

“I shut myself from social media because I wanted to focus on my fight and I did this for my country, the Philippines, for my family and for all my supporters,” added Paalam who also thanked Cagayan de Oro mayor Oscar Moreno and the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines.

Langu tried to fight back in the third but all he met were counters from Paalam who wisely used his uppercuts to stop the Indonesian.