The four-man boxing team to the Second World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Thailand has a terrific chance of getting slots to the 2024 Paris Olympics, national team head coach Pat Gaspi said on Sunday.
The boxers are currently holding a training camp in Denver, Colorado, and a mini-tournament is also on tap featuring fighters from other countries revving up for the qualifying tournament Bangkok is hosting from 23 May to 3 June.
Gaspi, one of the country’s top fighters during the 1980s being a silver medalist in the Southeast Asian Games and two-time bronze medal winner, too, has faith in the current crew looking to qualify for Paris.
In the United States right now are Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam, former world championships bronze medalist Rogen Ladon, pro fighter Criztian Pitt Laurente and Hergie Bacyadan.
So far, light-heavyweight Eumir Marcial and female punchers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas have qualified.
But Gaspi, a native of Sorsogon, swears the chances of seeing more qualifiers is high.
“Most of the top fighters have already qualified (after the first Olympic qualifying in Italy a few months ago),” Gaspi said, adding that some also made the grade after performing well in their respective continental championships.
Marcial earned his Paris stint after placing second in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou while Petecio and Villegas got theirs in Italy.
From the US, the team will probably head straight to Thailand for another camp before kicking off its bid to qualify.
“If the schedule doesn’t change, they would head home in June after the Bangkok tournament and they would probably set up camp in France se they could acclimatize,” Gaspi added.
