MANILA – Carlo Paalam have moved on to the gold medal round of the 2026 Asian Games men’s boxing -55 kilogram category following his 3-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan in the semifinals on Wednesday in Nagoya, Japan.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist survived a closely contested bout against the two-time world champion to book his place in the gold-medal match against Japan’s Rui Yamaguchi on Friday.
The judges were split on the outcome, with three scoring the bout in Paalam’s favor and two backing Sabyrkhan. The Filipino gained the decisive edge across the three rounds to advance.
The semifinal victory also gave Paalam another opportunity to improve on his previous Asian Games finish after winning bronze in the 2022 Hangzhou Games.
Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Marcus Manalo said Paalam remains focused on claiming the gold despite already securing a silver medal.
Meanwhile, Sofiah Pagara and Khylem Progella advanced to the women’s beach volleyball semifinals after edging Japan’s Non and Ren Matsumoto, 24-22, 22-20, in the quarterfinals.
The University of Santo Tomas Tiger Sands standout held their ground in two closely contested sets, securing the victory without dropping a frame to book a spot in the final four.
Fellow Alas Pilipinas pair Cherry Rondina and Bernadeth Pons saw their campaign end in the quarterfinals after losing to Thailand’s Taravadee Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee, 21-17, 12-21, 15-13.
In judo, Darryl John Mercado and Keisei Nakano both ended their campaigns after losing their round of 16 matches in the men’s -60 and -66 kilograms category, respectively.
In athletics, Yacine Guermali fell short of a podium finisn after ending up at fifth in the men’s 5000 meter event clocking 13:44.61, while Sonny Wagdos placed 11th clocking 14:29.42
Philippine Athletics Team concludes their 2026 Asian Games campaign finishing seventh in men’s 4x400m relay, while they landed at sixth in the mixed 4x100m relay.
Sibol Pilipinas will have no medal in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang event after losing to Indonesia in the quarterfinals, 2-1, while the national team also lost to Malaysia in the Identity V event quarterfinals.
In tennis, the women’s doubles tandem of Stefi Aludo and Tennielle Madis bowed out following their 6-3, 6-1 defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Hao Ching Chan and Fang Hsien Wu./PN
