Rogen Ladon qualifies for Rio Olympics after advancing to gold medal match in China

Rogen Ladon qualifies for Rio Olympics after reaching gold medal match in China

Mar 31, 2016

Rogen Ladon is the second Filipino athlete to book a place in the Olympics, joining sprinter Eric Cray. Photo from Singsoc / seagames2015.com

ROGEN Ladon of the Philippines defeated Devendro Singh Laishram of India via unanimous decision in the semifinals of the Asia/Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Qian’an, China on Thursday to claim a berth in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Ladon got the nod of all three judges, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, to advance to the finals of the men’s light flyweight class.

More important, Ladon became the first Filipino boxer to clinch a spot in Rio De Janeiro by virtue of an assured top two finish in the Asia/Oceania qualification tournament.

Ladon, who came in the Olympic qualifiers as the top-seed, will take on Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan for the gold medal. Dusmatov downed Gan-Erdene Gankhuyag of Mongolia via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.

The berth in the Olympics is a big accomplishment for Ladon, who only settled for a silver medal in the Singapore Southeast Asian Games just last June.

The Philippines has regularly qualified in the men's light flyweight class in boxing with Mansueto 'Onyok' Velasco winning a silver in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and brother Roel a bronze medal winner in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Danilo Lerio, Harry Tanamor and Mark Anthony Barriga also qualified as light flyweight in three previous Olympic games.

ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓

Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.