ABAP president satisfied with PHL boxer's 4-gold medal haul

Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) president Ricky Vargas expressed satisfaction over their four-gold medal haul in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia.

 

Vargas said that despite the conditions in Indonesia, particularly in officiating, the Philippine boxing team was able to collect the gold medals to the best of their ability.

 

“I would say that considering the content and manner in which we won the gold, I want to congratulate the team for the job well done,” said Vargas.

He said that the Philippine delegation in Palembang even reached a point where they made a complaint against a particular judge for biased officiating.

 

“I was not too confident that the men’s boxing team can still win two gold medals because of the officiating but our boxers showed that they can do it,” said Vargas.

 

Vargas also promised P300,000 for the four SEA Games gold medalists—Charly Suarez, Dennis Galvan, Alice Kate Aparri and Josie Gabuco—as incentives.

 

The boxing team now shifts its attention to securing Olympics slots and Vargas also expressed optimism that more boxers will earn tickets to the London Games. So far, only Mark Anthony Barriga has secured a spot in next year's Summer Games.

The PHL team seeks for more Olympic berths in April in the Asian qualifiers in Kazakhstan.

 

Suarez, meanwhile, will be competing in the World Series of Boxing, a semi-professional tournament sanctioned by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), for the Mumbai Fighters, a club team in India. — JVP/KG, GMA News