THE Philippines lost another potential gold medal winner in women's boxing in the 27th Southeast Asian Games as Alice Kate Aparri has been scratched from the national boxing team bound for Myanmar.
Philippine Sports Commission executive director Guillermo Iroy said the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) already informed him about Aparri's pullout, citing a heart problem as the reason the 29-year-old longtime national team member won't be able to compete in the December 11-22 biennial meet.
But a source within ABAP who asked not to be identified, confirmed Aparri is one-month pregnant with her first child after getting married earlier this year.
Aparri is a three-time SEA Games gold medallist, topping the 51 kgs class (flyweight) during the 2005 (Manila), 2009 (Laos), and 2011 (Indonesia) editions of the event.
A native of Benguet, she was also a two-time bronze medallist in the Aiba Women’s World Championship in 2006 (India) and 2010 (Barbados), respectively.
Iroy said he and Abap executive director Ed Picson will meet to discuss possible changes on the women’s team once the boxing official arrives from Ukraine, where the Aiba Junior World Boxing championships is being held.
Aparri is the second potential gold winner to be dropped from the Philippine delegation to the SEA Games after trackster and reigning Southeast Asian long jump champion Marestella Torres, who also admitted being pregnant with her first born child last July.
Both Aparri and Torres, a two-time Olympian, are included in the PSC priority program.
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