Boxers, wushu, cue artists in thick of battle

DOHA — Boxers Godfrey Castro and Joan Tipon gun for spots in the boxing final against two rivals from Thailand, the national equestrian team resumes its bid in second day of the showjumping qualifers and the RP wushu players finally plunge into action as the Asian Games enters its final week here Monday.

Over at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Fil-Am Cecil Mamiit tries to stay in contention for a berth in the medal race as he takes on Taiwanese Wang Yeu Tzuoo in the quarterfinal round of the men’s singles starting at 10 a.m. (3 p.m. in Manila).

Action in billiards also resumes at the Al-Sadd Multi Purpose Hall with Antonio Gabica, silver medalist in the 8-ball men’s singles, eyeing a spot in the medal round.

But focus will be on Castro and Tipon, whose impressive performances in the elims sparked hopes of a big finish by the Filipino boxers although they would have to get past a pair of tough Thai rivals to crash into the championship round.

First to see action is Castro, who will face veteran Suban Pannon at 2 p.m. in the first of two matches in the light flyweight division at the Aspire Hall 5. One bout later, it will be Tipon’s turn to mix it up with Worapoj Petchkoom in their bantamweight clash.

The country’s top wushu artists also begin their quest for medal with Rene Catalan and Eduard Folayang kicking off the campaign in the 52kg and 70kg categories, respectively, of sanshou.

Over at the Equestrian Jumping Arena, Juan Ramon Lanza, Danielle Cojuangco, Toni Leviste and Paola Zobel resume their bid in Qualifier 2 after the team finished tied for fifth in the first qualifier Sunday.

Also bidding to stay in the thick of the fight in archery are Katherine Santos and Rachelle Anne Cabral who are set to face off Rina Puspitasari of Indonesia and Bhutan’s Dorji Dulma, respectively, in round of 32 matches at the Lusail Archery Range.

The sepak takraw also sees action in the preliminary round with the women’s team taking on Thailand and the men’s squad clashing with Korea at the Al-Sadd Indoor Hall.