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    Don Abnett shares credit for Olympic success to Filipino coaches

    Australian boxing coach: 'It’s always been a team effort. There is nothing wrong with the coaching staff in the Philippines'
    Aug 13, 2021
    PHOTO: AP

    EVEN with the successful campaign by the Filipino boxers in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, coach Don Abnett said it is back to the drawing board for the national squad still in search of that elusive gold medal.

    Don Abnett looks ahead

    Abnett said the learning continues for the national team even after the squad bagged two silver and one bronze medals in the Games.

    “There were a few mistakes that was made,” said Abnett. “We need to go back and sit down with the team and the coaches and recap on what went wrong and eliminate the things that we didn’t do so well and make sure that the next steps are a positive step forward.”

    Generally though, Abnett is happy with the performance of the boxing team with Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam reaching the final bouts of their respective weight categories after a strong showing.

    Eumir Marcial also took home a bronze in a campaign highlighted by two quick knockout victories.

    “They are very determined. They are very dedicated in training. Since we started training and preparing for the Olympics, they dedicated themselves to training. They have a very good determination. Their character was great,” said Abnett.

    The Australian coach said even Irish Magno, who was unable to win a medal for the Philippine delegation, was also impressive during the preparation and the competition.

    “Even Irish, she showed a lot of improvement and she probably had the best performance in sparring. She was just unlucky with her competition,” said Abnett.

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      Abnett has been highly regarded for the success of the national boxers, but said he shares the success to his fellow coaches in the team as well.

      “It’s always been a team effort. There is nothing wrong with the coaching staff in the Philippines. They have a great bunch of coaches. I don’t like to take the credit for the success of what we’ve had. It’s always been a team effort,” said Abnett.

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      PHOTO: AP
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