Boxer Mark Anthony Barriga is the Philippines’ main hope for gold at the London Games, sports officials said Saturday, July 7 with the light-flyweight aiming to be the country’s first Olympic champion.
The 19-year-old, a quarter-finalist at the world championships in Azerbaijan last year, is facing tough odds, said Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines executive director Ed Picson.
But he added: “We think he has a decent chance of winning. That is why he is there. If we did not think he had a chance, we would not send him.”
The Philippines has an impressive record in professional boxing, with two current world champions — Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire.
Barriga also has a good record, with wins at the annual Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament in Uzbekistan in 2011 and 2012.
The head of the Philippine Sports Commission, Richie Garcia, said: “He has a very good chance of winning in his weight category. He seems to have the spirit and determination to win.
“He is not somebody who came out of nowhere. He has a track record and he can win.”
Garcia said the Philippines will have only a small squad of 11 athletes in London after many promising contenders failed to qualify in their respective sports.
The country has suffered a long medal drought, with its last podium finish — a silver medal in boxing — coming in the Atlanta games in 1996. It has never won gold but did bag bronze medals, also in boxing, in 1992 and 1988. The Philippines won a silver medal in boxing in the 1964 Tokyo, Olympics.
Garcia, whose agency is in charge of funding national athletics programmes, said he favors a proposal to bring in more foreign coaches.
The boxing association is considering hiring a “consultant”, possibly from Kazakhstan, the United States or Britain to help upgrade its programme, Picson said. /MP
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