AthleteNews & Updates

Olympics: looking at Bacyadan’s exit and Paalam’s unanimous win

Photos courtesy of: @paalamcarlo & @hergiebacyadan

Early Exit for Hergie Bacyadan as She Drops Round of 16 Bout to China’s Li

Propelled by a storied career in Wushu Sanda and Vovinam, Hergie Bacyadan headed to Paris in search of Olympic glory—via the sport of boxing, that is.

It was a bold move for the multidisciplinary martial artist from Kalinga. The problem was, courage would not be enough against the world’s best boxers.

Bacyadan exited the women’s middleweight tournament after dropping a 5-0 unanimous decision to China’s Li Qian on Wednesday evening (Manila time).

“Wala, kulang pa talaga sa experience sa boxing,” Bacyadan told reporters after the fight. “No excuses…talo tayo eh.”

On paper, it was a complete mismatch—the debuting Olympic boxer against a seasoned fighter who won bronze in Rio de Janeiro and bagged silver in Tokyo. When the bell rang, the disparity in their résumés became a resounding reality as Li proved too much for Bacyadan to handle.

Li established her main weapons—a mean left jab and an unrelenting one-two combo—during the opening round. Though Bacyadan tried his best to cover up, Li’s superior hand speed allowed her to penetrate the Pinoy fighter’s defense.

Before the start of Round 2, Bacyadan’s corner instructed him to land his own one-two combinations. Yet it was Li who continued punishing Bacyadan with her jab-and-cross sequence. As the round drew to a close, Bacyadan looked lost, having failed to connect on his punches at a high clip.

It was only in the waning seconds of the final round that Bacyadan showed glimpses of brilliance. With time running out on his medal hopes, he ramped up his aggressiveness and tagged Li multiple times with his left. This late burst, however, could not stop the judges from giving Li perfect scores for the third straight round.

Though his first Olympic stint ended way too soon, Bacyadan chose to put things in perspective.

“Nakatatak na ako. ‘Di na ako mawawala,” he said. “I’m very happy and blessed na napabilang ako sa mga Olympian.”

Carlo Paalam Scores Unanimous Win Over Ireland’s Jude Gallagher to Advance to Round of 16

By Wednesday evening (Manila time), Carlo Paalam had seen two friends move closer to medal contention, even as two others fell by the wayside. Which way he’d go after his opening bout was entirely up to him.

When the dust settled in his Round of 16 bout, Paalam accomplished what Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio had done over the past 48 hours—advance in the direction of Olympic gold.

Paalam scored a unanimous victory after a thrilling encounter with Ireland’s Jude Gallagher in the men’s featherweight tournament.

From beginning to end, the two fighters engaged in close-quarter combat, throwing lethal combinations with impressive speed. In the end, Paalam managed to stay a step quicker than Gallagher, a well-decorated fighter who won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

In Round 1, Paalam wasted no time in unleashing quick combos, going both high and low to try to negate Gallagher’s height advantage. Though the Irishman controlled the center of the ring, Paalam stayed swift on his feet and made it hard for Gallagher to find his mark.

As Gallagher pressed on in Round 2, Paalam fought back with left jabs and a right counter. Defensively, the pride of Cagayan de Oro moved side to side and frequently bent low, further stifling Gallagher’s attempts to land heavy blows.

With Paalam holding a slim lead in the scorecards, both fighters went full throttle in the final round. Though Gallagher caught Paalam on multiple occasions, Paalam made some stinging connections as well, including a sweet right counter towards the end of the round.

As a result of his 5-0 decision over Gallagher, Paalam advances to a quarterfinal matchup against Australia’s Charlie Senior. A win here guarantees Paalam a medal finish in the featherweight tournament.