INCHEON, Korea — Charly Suarez defeated Obada Mohammad Mustafa Alkasbeh of Jordan by split decision on Thursday to move into the final of the men’s lightweight division in the Asian Games boxing competition at the Seonhak Gymnasium.
The Kazakhstan and China judges scored the bout, 30-27, in favor of Suarez with the Russian judge giving the win to the Jordanian, 29-28, enough to put the Filipino within a win of a gold medal.
Suarez is now assured of at least a silver medal and will go for gold against Mongolia's Otgondalai Dorjnyambuu, who won over Satoshi Shimizu of Japan via unanimous decision.
The 26-year-old Suarez is confident about his chances as he had faced the Mongolian fighter in the Kazakhstan President’s Cup this year.
“Actually, nakalaban ko na ‘yun sa Kazakhstan pero tinalo ko na siya. Pero mag-dedepende pa rin ako sa ikakaloob ng Panginoon bukas sa laro namin,” said Suarez.
The Philippines went 1 for 4 in the semifinal round. Light flyweight Mark Anthony Barriga, bantamweight Mario Fernandez, and middleweight Wilfredo Lopez all had to settle for bronze medals after they failed in their respective bids to advance in the boxing competitions' evening session on Thursday.
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