HÀNGZHOU - Eumir Marcial is bound for the Paris Olympics.
The 27-year-old Marcial secured a berth in next year's Olympiad after advancing to the gold medal round of the men's 80 kg class in the 19th Asian Games by knocking out Ahmad Ghousoon of Syria in Wednesday's semifinals at the Hangzhou gymnasium.
Marcial, a southpaw and bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympiad, bided his time and slowy broke down his 27-year-old Syrian opponent.
A solid body punch sent Ghousoon sprawling in the canvas and was given a standing eight-count before being allowed to rest for a minute.
But it was the beginning of the end for the Syrian.
Moments after, Marcial set him up with a left straight and a perfect right hook to complete the knockout win before a motley crew of Filipinos, led by Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham Tolentino, wildly cheering the pro boxer fighting out of Manny Pacquiao Promotions.
"Kita ko talaga una pa lang ini-inda niya na yung suntok ko, kaya sabi ko dahan-dahanin ko lang," said an ecstatic Marcial, who was personally congratulated by Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) chairman Ricky Vargas. aftre the win.
"Panginoon ang nag gabay sa akin. Siya ang naglagay sa akin dito at alam ko siya ang nag-gabay sa akin para mag-qualify ako sa Olympics."
The official time of the fight ended at the 1:49 mark of round 2.
"That's Eumir. He's very focused and dedicated, and he has trained well not only for the Asian Games but also for his Olympic qualification," said Tolentino.
Also around to personally congratulate Marcial was ABAP (Alliance of Boxing Association in the Philippines) Ricky Vargas.
"Paris tayo," Vargas told Marcial after the fight.
"Yes sir," the boxer replied. "Pero kunin muna natin yung gold."
Marcial will now vie for Philippine boxing's first gold in the Asiad since 2010 as the light-heavyweight finals is set on Thursday.
He faces Tanglatihan Tuohetaerbieke of host China, a 4-1 winner over Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan in the other semifinals bout.
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