EUMIR FELIX MARCIAL gets to test his battle-readiness for the Tokyo Olympics when he flies to Dubai later this month with seven national teammates for the Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships.
But none of those joining Marcial are bound for the Olympics.
“We cannot gamble the safety of our athletes headed for the Tokyo Olympics and we don’t want to waste time in quarantine,” national team coach Nolito “Boy” Velasco told Business Mirror on Friday.
Joining Marcial in the May 21 to June 1 tournament are five-time Southeast Asian Games champion light flyweight Josie Gabuco, lightweight Maricel de la Torre and Jere Samuel dela Cruz, flyweight Marvin Tabamo and Mark Lester Durens, bantamweight Junmilardo Ogayre and light welterweight John Panuayan.
All seven are training at the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) facility in Baguio City while Marcial is currently in his native Zamboanga City.
“If the boxers get infected by the virus, 14 days would be wasted in quarantine because they would not be allowed to train,” Velasco added. “If they go to Dubai, they’ll be quarantined one week here in Thailand, and that’s also a waste of time.”
The Tokyo-bound boxers—light flyweight Carlo Paalam, flyweight Irish Magno and featherweight Nesthy Petecio—have been in their training camp in Muak Lek Saraburi, Thailand, since March 10.
Marcial already got two doses of anti-Covid-19 vaccine when he was still training in the US.
Velasco said that even without the Dubai warmup, the boxers are on track in their preparations for the Olympics set from July 23 to August 8.
“The training of our boxers is doing great because they have many sparring partners here,” Velaso said. “Since March 10, our boxers have shown vast improvement, especially Irish [Magno]. She’s finally back in her groove just like the rest.”
The Philippine Sports Commission is bankrolling the boxers’ Dubai stint through a P2 million financial assistance to the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines.
New Delhi was supposed to host the event but was moved to Dubai because of the scary increase in Covid-19 cases in India.