Ni ANN ENCARNACION
WALANG Christmas break ang Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) boxers na lalahok sa Asian Under-22 Boxing Championships sa Tashkent, Uzbekistan simula Enero 20 hanggang 30.
Ayon kay ABAP president Ed Picson, kailangang magsakripisyo ang walong boksingero – anim na lalaki at dalawang babae – kasama ang kanilang coaches at sparring partners para sa nasabing torneo.
Hindi muna pinangalanan ang mga boksingerong napiling magrepresenta sa bansa sa Asian U-22, ngunit tiniyak ni Picson na nasabihan na sila ng national sports association.
“We have already informed all our boxers and coaches that we have a Christmas break from Dec. 18 to Jan. 8. But then the invitation came out so we had to sadly inform them,” paliwanag ni Picson.
“Wala munang Christmas break para sa mga lalahok,” dagdag niya. “This means tuloy-tuloy ang training ng boxers in Baguio.”
Samantala, magsasagawa ng dual nation bubble training camp sa Baguio City din ang ABAP at Thai boxers bilang paghahanda sa 31st Southeast Asian Games sa Vietnam at 19th Asian Games sa Guangzhou, China.
“It is our time to host them (Thailand) this time,” sabi ni Picson. “If you remember, we trained in Thailand for nearly six months in a secluded island which helps us to win three medals in the Olympics. Mas marami sa Thailand na may isang medalyang naiuwi.”
Maliban sa SEAG at Asian Games, paghahandaan din ng ABAP ang Women’s World Championships sa Turkey.
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