Eumir Marcial Brings Home the Bronze Medal

Jerimae R. Sanchez in Ang Pinoy Stories

Aug 06, 2021 • 2 min Read

After a strong start in his Olympic debut, Filipino boxer Eumir Marcial brings home the bronze medal after an all-out slugfest in Tokyo Olympics Men’s Middleweight semi-finals against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khyzhniak, August 5, at Kokugikan Arena.

Marcial, who had easy wins in his two fights with first-round stoppages against Younes Nemouchi of Algeria and a knockout over Arman Darchinyan of Armenia, met Khyzhniak a gritty opponent in a tight split decision bout that favored the Ukrainian.

Despite failing to clinch the first Olympic gold for Philippine boxing, the Zamboanga native is optimistic about his future in boxing.

“Binigay ko po ‘yung lahat, ‘yung best ko para makuha dito sa Olympics kaya hindi ko po pinagsisisihan kung ano ‘yung nagawa ko, siguro may pagkukulang pero gagawin ko po ‘yung lahat para mag bigay pa ulit ng karangalan sa bansa natin,” quipped Marcial in a post-match interview. “Itong pagkatalo ko, ito lang ‘yung dahilan para lalo akong lumakas, lalo akong mag-improve,” he emphasized.

Both fighters entered the ring brimming with confidence. Marcial endured cuts on his forehead while Khyzhniak had some bleeding on the bridge of his nose.

The 25-year old Marcial went to work early in the first two rounds with pressured-packed punches yet struggled late in the deciding round as Khyzhniak dictated the tempo and finished the bout in his favor.

“Siguro may plano pa ‘yung Panginoon sa’kin. Sobrang sakit kasi pangarap ko ito eh. Simula pagkabata, gusto ko na talagang makatungtong dito sa Olympics at makuha yung gold, pero bigo ako,” uttered Marcial, who is now the fourth Filipino Olympian boxer to bag the bronze. “Kung pagbibigyan ako ng pagkakataon ulit na makapag-represent sa Olympics, grab ko ‘yung opportunity kasi hanggang ngayon, pangarap ko pa rin makuha ‘yung gold,” he added.

So far, as Bronze Medialist, Marcial is set to receive incentives amounting to php7 million in total from the government and various private sectors. Other perks are expected.

Meantime, Philippine Olympic Committee President announced that the POC and the MVP Sports Foundation will reward non-medalists of the Philippine delegation in the Tokyo Olympics with PHP500 thousand each for their dedication in representing the country.

Photo Sources: IG of Eumir Marcial