Carlo Paalam takes home silver in Asian Games boxing

The Philippines will continue its 16-year wait for an Asian Games boxing gold medal after Carlo Paalam fell short against Japan’s Rui Yamaguchi in the men’s 55kg final at the 2026 Asian Games on Friday.

Paalam settled for silver after losing to Yamaguchi via split decision, with the Philippines’ last Asian Games boxing gold coming in 2010.

Three judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Yamaguchi, while two judges scored it 29-28 and 30-27 for Paalam.

While the decision did not favor Paalam, he said: “Move forward po tayo; gawin pa rin ’yung best po, training pa rin, at saka pahinga muna.”

(Let’s move forward, just do our best, train, but rest first.)

In the Round of 16, Paalam defeated India’s Jadumani Singh Mandengbam via unanimous decision, followed by split-decision victories over China’s Zhang Jiamao in the quarterfinals and Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan in the semifinals.

The Philippines now has four gold medals, six silvers, and 15 bronzes in the 2026 Asian Games.

—JKC, GMA News