Capturing the first victory for the Philippine Olympic Team, our sole boxing contender, Mark Anthony Barriga beats Italian opponent Manuel Cappai in the Round of 32, advancing him to the next round, Round of 16 of the Olympic Boxing event. Barriga is fighting in the Lightweight Division.
The next round for the Filipino boxer will be on Saturday, August 5 where Barriga will face Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov.
Philippines' Forte
Barriga's win is not surprising considering the immense popularity of boxing among Filipinos. Manny Pacquiao, a Filipino professional boxer was crowned as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxer in history.
Also, the boxing event have captured most of Philippines' Olympic medals. Five out of nine medals won by the country was obtained through boxing. The last one was a silver medal by Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco in 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Interestingly, the last four Olympic medals of the country was won through boxing.
Olympic Medal Drought
It has been 16 years or three Summer Olympics have passed since the Philippines won its last medal. The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) though headed by Manny Lopez expressed optimism for Mark Anthony Barriga and BMX racing's Daniel Caluag as having a big chance of winning in their respective events.
See Photos of the fight here
The next round for the Filipino boxer will be on Saturday, August 5 where Barriga will face Kazakhstan’s Birzhan Zhakypov.
Philippines' Forte
Barriga's win is not surprising considering the immense popularity of boxing among Filipinos. Manny Pacquiao, a Filipino professional boxer was crowned as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxer in history.
Also, the boxing event have captured most of Philippines' Olympic medals. Five out of nine medals won by the country was obtained through boxing. The last one was a silver medal by Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco in 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Interestingly, the last four Olympic medals of the country was won through boxing.
Olympic Medal Drought
It has been 16 years or three Summer Olympics have passed since the Philippines won its last medal. The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) though headed by Manny Lopez expressed optimism for Mark Anthony Barriga and BMX racing's Daniel Caluag as having a big chance of winning in their respective events.
See Photos of the fight here
Comments
Post a Comment