By Adrian Stewart Co
It might be just a silver medal but for Filipino boxer Carlo Paalam, it means a lot as it pictures not just his achievements for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but also a representation of his humble past.
According to the Cagayan de Oro City-native Paalam, he remembers his days as a scavenger with his silver medal as it was made from recycled scraps from mobile phones and computers.
“Itong medal na ito ay simbolo ng buhay ko. Isa akong mangangalakal at itong medalya ay gawa sa mga sirang gadget po,” Paalam said. “Sa basura siya galing, kaya nai-connect ko po siya sa buhay ko.”
‘Yan po ang pinanghugutan ko ng inspirasyon para makuha ko ito. Nagpapasalamat po talaga ako sa Panginoon kasi nabago po ang buhay ko dahil dito sa medalya na ito,” he added.
The 23-year-old Paalam settled for a bridesmaid finish in the men’s flyweight division following a split decision defeat to Great Britain’s Galai Yafai on Saturday, August 7, at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
Paalam was connecting with his punches early in the opening round before he was stunned by Yafai with a four-punch combo. Yafai capped with a textbook right jab-left straight to knock down the Filipino fighter.
Although Paalam survived the fall, he was visibly affected in the second round with Yafai managing to land quick jabs and solid left straights allowing the British to gain the judges nod after two rounds.
Knowing that he is way behind in scorecards, Paalam went for the big punch in the third round but to no avail as Yafai simply kept his distance and danced away from each time the Filipino attempted for a knockout.
Regardless of the end result of his campaign, it was still a commendable Olympic debut for Paalam as he went through a hard road on his way to the gold medal match in his stacked division.
Paalam opened the Olympics with a split win over Ireland’s Brendan Irvine before unanimously beating Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi, Rio champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan, and hometown bet Ryomie Tanaka.
“Nagpapasalamat ako sa Panginoon sa pagbibigay ng lakas sa akin at naabot ko ang pangarap ko,” Paalam said. “First time ko sa Olympics at halos lahat ng mga magagaling nandito, kinapos man ako ngayon ngunit babawi tayo sa 2024.”/ASC, WDJ