WITH just two weeks to go before the Olympic qualifying
tournament in Bangkok starts, the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines
has yet to receive an invitation from Thai organizers.
But ABAP chief Manny Lopez is unfazed, saying with or without
an invitation six Filipino boxers will compete in Thailand, where the gold and
silver medalists will qualify for the Beijing Olympics in August.
The Thai qualifying tournament is set on Jan. 24 to Feb. 3
and features 12 divisions.
"They will see our faces in Bangkok," said Lopez, who graced
yester-day’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s UN Ave. where he raised several points that
led to their controversial protest over biased judging in the recent Thailand
SEA Games.
"Up to now, with the deadline for the submission of entries
to the Olympic qualifying tournament having lapsed (last Dec. 20), we have yet
to receive an invitation from Thailand," he said.
"But we will go there. We will bring in six boxers. If they
don’t let us in, there will be a bigger issue of discrimination which is against
the Olympic charter," he added.
Leading the line-up, which will be finalized this week, are
flyweight Violito Payla and bantam Joan Tipon. So far, only light flyweight
Harry Tanamor has clinched a slot to the Beijing Games.
After Thailand, the final Olympic qualifying tournament for
Asian boxers will be held in March in Kazakhstan.
Lopez, also the secretary-general of the Asian Amateur Boxing
Federation, also defended their action in the Thai SEA Games where Pinoy boxers
surrendered to their Thai foes in the finals.
Out of 13 finalists (seven men and six women) the Philippines
won only one gold medal courtesy of Annie Albania who knocked out her Thai
opponent. In the men’s finals, four RP pugs gave up the fight without throwing a
punch.
"You can expect a lot of fireworks in the coming days. And we
are threading on rough waters," said Lopez, who recently wrote AIBA chief Ching
Kuo Wu of South Korea regarding the SEA Games incident.
"He said he will look into it. Otherwise, we can elevate the
matter to the International Olympic Committee," said Lopez.
