HANGZHOU, China — Eumir Marcial hit two birds with one stone in the 19th Asian Games on Wednesday.
The Filipino southpaw made it to the gold medal round of the men’s 80-kg class after demolishing Ahmad Ghousoon of Syria and earned an outright berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Mr. Marcial, bronze medalist in the Tokyo Games, dominated Mr. Ghousoon in their semifinal bout at the Hangzhou gymnasium, twice decking the Syrian in the second round, including a left jab which set him up for a smashing right hook that served as the coup de grace in the rousing victory.
Official time was 1:49 of the second round.
When everything was over, Mr. Marcial went to his corner and cried on the shoulders of coaches Ronald Chavez and Don Abnett as reality quickly set in that he’s bound for another shot at the Olympics.
Boxing is among the few sports in this edition of the continental meet that serve as qualifier to next year’s Paris Olympiad.
Emotional Mr. Marcial, who initially doubted he’d be able to compete in the Olympiad again after his weight class of 75 kg had been scrapped in the Paris Games.
But upon the prodding of his family including his wife Princess, Mr. Marcial gave it one more shot, moved up in weight, and briefly set aside his pro boxing career for the Asiad.
Now, he’s just a win away from winning that gold.
“That’s Eumir (Marcial), he’s very focused and dedicated and he has trained well not only for the Asian Games but also for his Olympic qualification,” said Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham ‘Bambol’ Tolentino, one of the many people Mr. Marcial thanked in his quest for another Olympic stint, along with ABAP (Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines) chairman Ricky Vargas, and boxing legend and promoter Manny Pacquiao.
Mr. Marcial vies for Philippine boxing’s first Asiad gold since 2010 as he faces Tanglatihan Tuohetaerbieke of China, a 4-1 win over Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan in the other semifinal bout.
The gold medal round is set on Thursday at 8:45 p.m. — POC-PSC Medial Pool
