Marcial is the only bright spot for Philippine boxing in the recent Asian Games in China.
Uzbekistan with three gold medals, remained as men's boxing champion but host China, riding high on its showing in the women's division, emerged as the overall winner in the recent 2023 Asian Games boxing competition held in Hangzhou, China.
Held from September 24 to October 5, the competition also served as qualifiers for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France with a total of 238 boxers from 38 countries participating.
Uzbekistan and China together with South Korea and Kazakhstan fielded the most number of boxers at 13 each, followed by Mongolia and Thailand.
The Philippines fielded nine boxers including its three last Tokyo Olympics medalists, Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, both silver, and bronze medalist Eumir Felix Marcial. However, change in the weight classification by the organizers handicapped the Filipinos as Paalam, Marcial and John Marvin were forced to compete at higher weights: Paalam formerly a bantamweight was constrained to fight at featherweight, Marcial from middleweight to light heavyweight and Marvin from light heavyweight to heavyweight.
As a result, only Marcial succeeded in making past the last 16 rounds, qualifying as far as the finals in his new weight class. Paalam and Petecio were not as lucky, falling to the reigning world or Olympic champions in the qualification rounds with Petecio again losing to her Olympics finals rival Lin Yu Ting of Chinese Taipei.
To his credit, Marcial put a fear to his competitors in Hangzhou scoring back to back knockout wins in the quarter and semifinals. Many believed he was denied of the gold against Touhetaerbeke Tanghatian who won China's lone gold in the men's competitions.
Olympic champions Hassanboy Dusmatov, Bakhodir Jalalov and Abdulmalik Kholokov delivered the gold for Uzbekistan once again dominating the competitions at flyweight, super heavyweight and featherweight classes.
Mongolia's Baatarshukin Chinzong won the gold at lightweight while Japan's Sewon Okazawa ruled the light middleweights. Daviat Botaev of Tajikistan won the gold at heavyweight.
Thsiland also failed to win a single gold but has two silvers and two bronzes in the men's competition with Thitisan Panmot falling to Dusmatov in the flyweight finals.
China won five gold medals overall including four in women's boxing where Chinese Taipei lady boxers once again came up with fine showing led by its Olympic champion Lin Yuting, Petecio's nemesis.
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