(Eagle News) – Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial gave the country its Olympic bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics after his fight in the men’s middleweight division with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak.
With Marcial’s bronze, the Philippines now has three medals – 1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze – at the Tokyo Olympics.
A fourth medal is assured for the country as fellow boxer Carlos Paalam advanced to the finals after an earlier win over Japan’s Ryomei Tanaka in the flyweight division. He and will be playing on Saturday, Aug, 7, for a shot at a second gold for the Philippines.
Khyzhniak’s win over Marcial was via a split decision as both boxers fought hard, and suffered cuts during the intense match at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo.
From the start of round 1, the Ukrainian fighter advanced like an arrow on Marcial with punches, but the Filipino was able to land his own on Khyzhniak. At the end of the round, three judges scored in favor of Marcial, while two other judges scored it for Khyzhniak. After the round, Marcial had a bleeding cut above the forehead
In round 2, the boxers traded more intense slugs. With tangling of arms, pushing and punching, both boxers again proved their toughness. This too was a very close round, and at the end of it, the Ukrainian suffered a bleeding cut above the nose. Two judges scored it for Marcial, while the other two had it at a tie for both boxers, and another judge scored it for Khyzhniak. At this point, it was clear the fight could go either way.
On the third and final round, the same intense exchange of blows were seen from both fighters who seemed to be equal in strength. At the end of the round, Khyzhniak won by a hair — via a very close split decision.
Both fighters recognized each other’s strength and hugged at the end of the match, since both had also fought before. This was in fact the Ukrainian’s second win against the 25-year old Zambonga native.
Khyzhniak, 25, had earlier beaten Marcial in a tournament in Bulgaria in 2019 but only because the latter was forced to withdraw due to an injury at the start of the third round.
Khyzhniak won the gold in the 2017 World Championships, 2017 European Championships, and the 2019 European Game.
Malacanang was all praises for Marcial’s performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
“The whole Filipino nation is very proud of Eumir Marcial for his outstanding performance in the Men’s Middleweight Boxing competition that brought us our first Bronze Medal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games,” said a Palace statement.
“Taas noo kaming nagpapasalamat sa’yo Eumir dahil sa iyong sakripisyo at galing na ipinamalas para sa Pilipinas!” said a statement from Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.
“May your success further inspire aspiring Filipino boxers and athletes. The nation eagerly awaits your return here in the Philippines.”
With his win, the country got another medal, an Olympic bronze, the first since Roel Velasco – elder brother of 1996 Olympic silver medalist Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco — won his Olympic bronze at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
(Eagle News Service)