Tokyo Olympics: Carlo Paalam into gold-medal fight as he eases past Japan’s Ryomei Tanaka in dominant semi-final win
- Paalam advances to Saturday’s flyweight final after impressive display against Japanese opponent
- Win guarantees another silver medal for Philippines after teammate Nesthy Petecio scored one on Tuesday
Filipino flyweight Carlo Paalam completed a unanimous decision win to move within one fight of a gold medal as he dominated Ryomei Tanaka of Japan from start to finish in their semi-final bout at Kokugikan Arena on Thursday.
Paalam’s win guarantees at least a silver medal for Philippines, to add to the gold weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz claimed earlier in the Games, and the boxing silver Paalam’s teammate Nesthy Petecio scored on Tuesday.
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The 23-year-old Paalam was all class in a consummate win over his Japanese opponent, superior in every department.
Fine footwork allowed Paalam to open angles and unleash accurate punch combinations. Tanaka, who defeated China’s Hu Jinguan in a controversial last-16 bout earlier in the competition, was outthought and outfought and became increasingly desperate as the fight drew on.
From the first bell, Paalam’s heavier hands caused problems for the 27-year-old from Tajimi in central Japan and he was immediately landing more scoring shots, and eventually took the opener unanimously on the judges’ scorecards.