The boxing competitions in the 19th Asian Games will be intense as 34 slots to the 2024 Paris Olympics are going to be up for grabs.
In the men’s division, 20 will be given away while 14 will be contested in the women’s bracket.
The Philippines is considered one of the region’s top teams alongside Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, India, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Iran.
Since boxing’s introduction in the 1954 Asian Games in Manila. South Korea has dominated with huge showings in the 1960s until the 1980s.
Thailand then entered the scene and the former Russian states of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan took charge.
The Philippines also has its share of glorious moments.
In the 1994 Hiroshima Asiad, the Philippines bagged three gold medals courtesy of Reynaldo Galido, Elias Recaido and Onyok Velasco.
This year’s batch is extra-special and talent-laden.
Leading the Filipinos are Tokyo Olympics silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio and bronze medal winner Eumir Marcial, who took a leave from his professional career to fulfill his Olympic dreams.
The Filipinos toughened up for Hangzhou by setting up camp in India and Australia.
