No goodbye yet for Paalam

NAGOYA, Japan — Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam stepped into the men’s 55 kgs gold medal bout after surviving a thrilling, gritty and bloody semifinal clash against Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan at the Nishio Gymnasium in the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games on Wednesday.

Setting the tone early, Paalam dominated the opening frame, taking Round 1 with a 10-9 score on four of the five judges' scorecards and engaged the Kazakh in a fierce close battle in the next two rounds to escape with a 3-2 split decision victory.

The Talakag (Bukidnon) pride admitted his Kazakh rival showed up with a completely different style, turning the bout into a highly tactical game of counters.

Following the strict instructions of Coach Elmer Pamisa to strike first and hit the final counter, Paalam took control early.

"Lalabas 'to siya, gawin ko yung laro ko... unahan lang kami paano mag counter," Paalam shared.

The match reached a boiling point in a physical third round where Paalam had to overcome a point deduction from the referee.

Digging deep into his endurance, he showcased his immense fighting spirit to sway the judges.

"Pinapakita ko sa referee na Pinoy tayo, dugo natin 'to, kahit magkamatayan tayo... ibibigay talaga sa last round," he declared.

With this massive semifinal win, Paalam is now assured of taking home at least a silver medal for the Philippines and will hope to be the next gold medal winner for the country when he takes on hometown bet Rui Yamaguchi of Japan, who won 5-0 against Mongolian Bilguunsaikhan Kharhuu.

Despite the assured medal, Paalam revealed the heavy mental toll and online criticism he has carried throughout the tournament, asking his countrymen for positivity: "Support me, walang bashing sa mga Pilipinong lumalaban sa Asian Games kasi lahat hirap talagang kumuha ng medal... pagdasal niyo kami."

But as Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) President Marcus Manalo made crystal clear, our champion is absolutely not settling—he is going all out for the gold!