JAKARTA — The Philippines has been assured of another bronze medal after Olympian Rogen Ladon reached the semifinal round of the men’s flyweight (52kg) category in the 18th Asian Games boxing competition here on Tuesday night.
The 25-year-old Ladon, who hails from Bago City, Negros Occidental, scored a 3-2 victory over Kazkhstan’s Azat Mahmetov in their quarterfinal bout at the Jakarta International Exhibition Center in Kemayoran.
Ladon, who placed ninth in the 2016 Rio Olympics, will be up against Thailand’s Yuttapong Tongdee, who prevailed over Mongolia’s Gan-Erdene Gankhuyag, 3-2.
The other semifinal match will pit Uzbekistan’s Jasurbek Latipov against Kyrgyzstan’s Azal Usanaliev.
Latipov won over Indonesia’s Aldoms Suguro, 4-1, while Usanaliev defeated DPR Korea’s O Tae Bom, 5-0, in the quarterfinal round.
Meanwhile, Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez congratulated Team Philippines for accomplishing its mission of surpassing the one gold victory in Incheon, South Korea four years ago.
“We went into the Asian Games just hoping to equal our 2014 performance. Now, we have surpassed our goal,” said Ramirez in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The Philippines is ranked No. 19 in the medal tally board with three golds courtesy of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and golfers Yuki Saso (women’s individual) and Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan, and Louis Kay Go (team) and 12 bronze medals coming from pencak silat (three), taekwondo (three), wushu (two), golf (one), ju-jitsu (one) and karate (one).
Ramirez said the success should be credited to all the stakeholders.
“The PSC does not claim solo credit for this,” Ramirez said. “This is a combined effort of all parties involved in ensuring that our athletes present their best form in the competitions”.
Ramirez also praised all the athletes, even the non-medallists, who trained hard for the Games.
“I see our athletes everyday. They live detached from their families, train everyday and subject their bodies to punishing exertions,” he said.
“As a former coach, I appreciate an athlete beyond the person we see on the mat, on the ring, on the court. Their journey is not easy. So while we celebrate the winners, let us also congratulate the others because whether they win or not, it is the journey that counts,” Ramirez said.
With its three golds and 12 bronzes, the Philippine is No. 6 among Southeast Asian countries.
Indonesia is fourth with 24 golds, 19 silvers and 29 bronzes while Thailand is at No. 8 with nine golds, 10 silvers and 33 bronzes.
Malaysia is at No. 13 with four golds, eight silvers and seven bronzes and Singapore at No. 16 with three golds, four silvers and 10 bronzes.
Vietnam and Cambodia each have two golds at 20th and 24th, respectively. Laos has two silvers and two bronzes, while Myanmar has two bronzes. (Jean Malanum/PNA)
