Paalam embarks on redemption tour

Carlo Paalam is putting his disappointing loss in the 20th Asian Games behind as he chases glory in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in Riyadh from 13 to 21 December.

Paalam, who settled for silver in the men’s 55-kilogram division in the continental showcase that wrapped up in Nagoya over the weekend, said he is ready to return to training in a bid to redeem himself at the Asian level.

The Bukidnon native, a silver medalist in the Paris Olympics, looked good in the preliminaries until losing to Japanese fighter Yamaguchi Rui via split decision at the Nishio Gymnasium last week.

The Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) protested the loss, saying that Paalam was clearly the better fighter in his clash with the hometown bet, who is also the reigning Asian champion.

Now, Paalam is determined to vent his ire on the foes who will block his way in AIMAG.

“In training, I want to go back to zero again. You can’t say, ‘I’m a medalist, so I just want to win a medal,’” Paalam said.

“All the players there are also ambitious. They want to win a medal. We’re the same — we want to win a gold medal.”

Paalam also drew encouragement from fellow national team boxer Eumir Marcial, who reached out after his deep run in the Asian Games.

“I was really happy. He called me and we had a chat. He congratulated me,” Paalam said, referring to Marcial, who won silver in the previous edition of the Asian Games in Hangzhou but skipped the Nagoya event after scoring a knockout victory over Omar Ulises Huerta of the United States on 19 September at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.

“As an athlete, it’s comforting having somebody in your corner. It makes me want to bounce back harder.”

The 28-year-old Paalam now has his sights set beyond Riyadh, with the 34th Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia and the qualifiers for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics also part of his long-term plans.

For ABAP, however, Paalam’s bid for redemption must be matched by better preparation from the national team.

ABAP president Marcus Manalo said the Filipinos need to compete more often and sharpen their skills if they want to consistently challenge for gold medals.

“We have to prepare better and we have to be sharper because that’s how we see it in other countries. They’re really sharp and they’ve been busy with competitions,” Manalo said.

“We’re not as busy as we’d like to be, especially leading to the Asian Games. So, that’s what we have to do.”