MANILA, Philippines — Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam carries the country's hopes on his shoulders as the sole remaining boxer for the Philippines at the 2026 Asian Games, aiming to break a 16-year gold medal drought.
The Philippines has not captured Asian Games boxing gold since Rey Saludar stood atop the podium in Guangzhou in 2010. Following years of bronze finishes and near-misses across Incheon, Jakarta-Palembang, and Hangzhou, Paalam now stands just two wins away from ending the dry spell.
Paalam secured his spot in the medal round at the Nishio Gymnasium after outpointing China's Jiamao Zhang in the quarterfinals. The victory guarantees him at least a bronze medal, but standing between him and a spot in the gold medal match is Kazakhstan's Makhmud Sabyrkhan.
The upcoming semifinal is a high-stakes rematch four years in the making. The two fighters last met in the bantamweight final of the 2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan, where Paalam edged out Sabyrkhan via a 4-1 split decision to take gold.
However, Sabyrkhan enters the ring as a vastly matured competitor. Since their last encounter, the Kazakh star has established himself as a two-time world champion—securing silver at the 2021 AIBA World Championships and gold at the 2023 IBA World Championships. After competing at 57kg in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sabyrkhan returned to his natural 55kg weight class to dominate the 2025 WB World Boxing Championships, earning him World Boxing's Best Boxer of 2025 honors.
While Sabyrkhan seeks redemption, Paalam fights to secure a guaranteed silver and keep the nation's quest for Asian Games gold alive. TMT
