Marcial wins gold in AIBA World Junior Championships
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 01 Aug 2011
The first time tiny 15-year-old Eumir Felix Marcial took a plane ride, it brought him to Manila to join the national junior training pool of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippine (ABAP) last February.
The second time he was on board a plane was when he was chosen as one of two Philippine bets to the AIBA (International Amateur Boxing Association) World Junior Championship held in far away Astana in Kazakhstan.
It was barely five months ago since he set foot at the ABAP gym inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and even that early, this discovery from Zamboanga had notion that when he returns back home he will have with a gold medal hanging around his neck as world champion in the 52-kilogram category.
He did following a close but impressive, 9-7, victory opver Cengiz Onat of Turkey in the division finale held Saturday evening, becoming the first Filipino fighter to emerge triumphant in this prestrigious event since its inception 10 years ago.
And Marcial, a school dropout from a poor family, won the title with aplomb, disposing off all his opponents from such boxing countries as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus -- in impressive fashion to set the stage for his gold medal bout with Onat.
To reach the finals, Marcial knocked out Belarus? Vaha Eduard in the first round of their three-round encounter to install himself the odds on favorite to stash away with the crown.
?Eumir?s feat is the triumph of the Pinoy Spirit,? businessman-sportsman Manny V. Pangilinan, ABAP chair, exclaimed in an interview with Malaya Business Insight yesterday, a day after Marcial?s gold medal victory.
?Eumir?s is an amazing story. Only 15 from a poor family in Zamboanga and a national champion at his early age, he, likewise, is a world champion in only his first trip abroad, fighting in his first international competition,? Pangilinan said.
?As I have often say, Kaya ng Pinoy. Kaya nating manalo and we have proven that not only once,, twice but many times. The road to the Philippines? first Olympic Games gold medal is, indeed on,? Pangilinan added.
ABAP president Ricky Vargas, who heads Maynilad water firm, one of Pangilinan-owned firm supportive of the MVP Sports Foundation, was equally elated as he congratulated Marcial and his coaches, headed by Olympian Romeo Brin via an overseas call.
?Congratulations, Eumir, You made our country proud. Your hard work and that of your coaches has paid off. Tuloy nyo yan,? Vargas said. ?This victory means the succession program for our next men?s team is very promising as it is beginning to bear fruit.?
Marcial is one of the talented products ofABAP?s national talent identification and development program at the grassroots level for 18 years and below inspired by Pangilinan with the support of PLDT.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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