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| Carlo Paalam stunned Makhmud Sabyrkhan to enter the Asian Games final. POC Media Pool |
MANILA—With a silver already etched into his Olympic legacy, Carlo Paalam is now one fight away from adding the brightest color to his Asian Games résumé after edging Kazakhstan's Makhmud Sabyrkhan via a 3-2 split decision in the men's 55kg semifinal Wednesday afternoon at Nishio Gymnasium in Japan.
Paalam's victory ended the campaign of Sabyrkhan, the reigning 2025 world champion in the division, while simultaneously securing at least a silver medal for the Philippine boxing delegation.
The 28-year-old Filipino relied on his trademark counterpunching in the opening round, earning the nod of four of the five judges as he effectively picked apart Sabyrkhan’s attacks.
Sabyrkhan, however, refused to fade quietly, responding with an aggressive second round that swung the closely contested bout back in his favor and left the outcome hanging in the balance heading into the final frame.
With the semifinal hanging by a thread, Paalam delivered the more telling punches in the third round, offsetting Sabyrkhan's activity and doing enough to convince three judges that he deserved the victory.
"Pinapakita ko sa referee na Pinoy tayo, dugo natin 'to, kahit magkamatayan tayo... ibibigay talaga sa last round," he declared.
The split decision sent Paalam into the gold-medal bout and kept alive his bid to add an Asian Games title to the silver medal he won at the Tokyo Olympics.
His triumph also ensured that the Philippines would leave the boxing competition with an assured silver medal, despite Olympians Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas falling short of the podium in their respective divisions.
But Paalam is not settling for silver.
Standing between him and the gold is Japan's own Rui Yamaguchi, who earned a unanimous-decision victory over Mongolia's Bilguunsaikhan Kharkhuu in the other semifinal.
For Paalam, the upcoming final offers another opportunity to turn years of experience on the international stage into the gold medal that has so far remained beyond his collection.
