Irish Magno, Carlo Paalam gear up for Tokyo Olympic debut

Irish Magno opens her Tokyo Olympic stint against a higher ranked opponent on Sunday. From Magno's Facebook account
By Dugout Philippines

TOKYO—World’s no. 25 Irish Magno takes on 17th-ranked Christine Ongare of Kenya in the preliminary round of the women’s flyweight division on Sunday at the Kokugikan Arena here.

Ongare was the first female Kenyan boxer to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the sport, when she claimed bronze in the flyweight category at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.

On Monday, flyweight no. 25 Carlo Paalam battles 25-year-old Irishman Brendan Irvine, ranked no. 32.

Eumir Marcial, by virtue of his being seeded no. 3 here, drew a bye.

Needing only two wins to clinch a bronze medal and four to secure gold, the middleweight Marcial will fight the winner of the bout between Algeria’s Younes Nemouchi and Ugandan Kavuma David Ssemujju.

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