1:20 am | Tuesday, August 7th, 2012
IT was, in most fields in London, higher, faster and stronger.
But, in the boxing ring, it was definitely dirtier.
Mark Anthony Barriga won his boxing match on Saturday neat and clear, but the referee stopped the tiny warrior in his sensational Olympic quest by helping push the gutsy Pinoy bullpup deeper down the floor.
He did not take an actual hand in grappling and toppling Barriga, but referee Roland Labbe of Canada belied his foul intent by penalizing the big-hearted Pinoy kid after he was shoved down hard in the final minute of the third round.
“The Kazakh was leaning on the back of Barriga’s head with all his weight when the referee shockingly penalized the Filipino supposedly for ducking,” reported Inquirer Sports editor Ted Melendres.
***
Majority of those who watched the bout on television in Manila were aghast at the anomaly.
It was bad enough that the bigger Birzhan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan, a grizzled veteran, had manhandled the boyish Barriga in the second round, grabbing and shoving the tiny boxer like a toy teddy bear, with no visible concern on the part of the referee.
Of course, it was all to Barrriga’s credit that, after falling behind in the first round, he still managed to move up and take the second round from the befuddled but bullying Kazakh through sharp, gutsy boxing.
Barriga had indeed looked headed for his second win, after the previous mastery of a tall Italian foe, as he took the second round, 6-3, until the outboxed Kazakh decided to resort to full-scale wrestling.
***
No self-respecting expert or spectator would agree with the official verdict, rendered following a Philippine protest, that there had been nothing untoward behind Barriga’s 17-16 setback.
A protest, lodged by Amateur Boxing of the Philippines executive director Ed Picson on the instruction of Abap president Ricky Vargas, was summarily dismissed by the international amateur boxing body Aiba.
Without bothering to do a review, the Aiba ruled out the Philippine protest “as emotional and subjective.”
It was, however, noted that the Abap complaint was not different from the one previously lodged by the US boxing team.
In that case, involving an Indian and an American, the 13-11 result in favor of Krishan Vikas was overturned and awarded to Errol Spence, 15-13, after it was determined that the referee failed to give at least two warnings to the Indian (equal to four points).
***
The Abap could not help but cry discrimination.
As things stand, it would appear that the Aiba, under a new Taiwanese president, has not honestly broken away from the dark ways of the previous regime, also known as the Dark Empire, under the leadership of the abominable Anwar Chowdry of Pakistan.
The Abap had all the right to protest and protect the interest of the young Barriga.
But, at the same time, it should wake up to reality and take care not to heed the shallow suggestion for the undersized Barriga to try, train harder and proceed to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
Sharp, gutsy and great as he is, Barriga should not be made to realize in another harsh, foul way that he was not honestly cut out for the tall Olympic task.
His star is sure to shine in next year’s Myanmar Southeast Asian Games.
Tags: Boxing , London 2012 Olympics , Mark Anthony Barriga
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| POS | COUNTRY | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | TOTAL |
| 1 | United States | 46 | 29 | 29 | 104 |
| 2 | China | 38 | 27 | 23 | 88 |
| 3 | Great Britain | 29 | 17 | 19 | 65 |
| 4 | Russia | 24 | 26 | 32 | 82 |
| 5 | South Korea | 13 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| 6 | Germany | 11 | 19 | 14 | 44 |
| 7 | France | 11 | 11 | 12 | 34 |
| 8 | Italy | 8 | 9 | 11 | 28 |
| 9 | Hungary | 8 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| 10 | Australia | 7 | 16 | 12 | 35 |
The Philippines holds the record for winning the most medals without a gold haul with seven bronze and two silvers for a total of nine.
The Philippines will shoot for its first gold medal in six of the following events in the 2012 London Olympics: Athletics, BMX, Boxing, Cycling, Shooting and Swimming.
The Philippines is the first country to compete and win an Olympic medal among Southeast Asian countries.
The Philippines participated in the Winter Olympics three times, in 1972 (Juan Cipriano and Ben Nanasca, alpine skiing), in 1988 (Raymund Ocampo, luge) and in 1992 (Michael Teruel, alpine skiing).
1972 was the last year the Philippine men's basketball team, which then paraded William 'Bogs' Adornado, Danny Florencio and Yoyong Martirez among others in its line up, has qualified for the Olympics.
Teofilo Yldefonso is the first Filipino to win a medal and the only one to take home multiple medals. He finished third both in the Men's 200 meter breastroke during the 1928 and 1932 Olympics.
The Philippine basketball team wound up fifth place—best finish for an Asian country in the Olympics to date—in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the first time basketball was played as an Olympic sport.
John Baylon, a nine-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, and Jerry Diño were the last Filipino Olympic qualifiers in the discipline Judo, having vied in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Men's boxing has for medals in the Olympics with Anthony Villanueva, silver in the Featherweight Division of the 1964 Games in Tokyo; Leopoldo Serantes, third in 1988 Seoul; Roel Velasco, third in Barcelona; and his brother Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco, second in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The Philippines has only won medals in three events since joining the Olympics in 1924.
Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, though not competing, carries the Philippine flag at the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Philippines has not won a medal since Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco settled for silver in boxing via a controversial decision during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The largest delegation the Philippines has ever sent to the Games was 53 in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Mary Antoinette Rivero's tie for fifth place in Taekwondo is the closest any Filipino athlete came to a medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Harry Tañamor, the only Filipino predicted to win by the Sports Illustrated in its Olympic Preview edition, bows out in the first match up in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The Philippines last reached the final round swimming 80 years ago when Jikirum Adjaluddin and Teofilo Yldefonso ended up in the final six in the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
With only eight athletes in six sporting events for the London Games, this will be PH's smallest delegation since 1996.
The men's Philippine Basketball team is the first country to ever score 100 or more points in the 1948 Olympics after clobbering Iraq,102-30.
Arianne Cerdena won a gold in bowling at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but Cerdena's gold was not included in the medal tally since bowling was considered only as a demonstration sport.
The Philippines is the first nation in the tropics to ever participate in the Winter Olympic Games.
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