Barriga relentless, blasts tall Italian

LONDON – Mark Anthony Barriga unleashed a blizzard of stinging, punishing blows and scored a very convincing 17-7 victory over Manuel Cappai of Italy in the opening round of the light flyweight division of the Olympic boxing competitions yesterday at the Excel South Arena 2 of the Olympic Park here.

The 20-year-old, 5-2 Filipino fighter used speed and flexibility in avoiding the long reach of the 5-7 Italian champion to hack out the commanding win that bodes well of his chances to advance to the medal round against all comers.

He advanced to the round of 16 set Aug. 3.

Barriga could not be interviewed at his dugout, preferring to keep out of the prying media photographers and scribes who saw in him the potential of winning the country’s first ever gold.

“Let’s just leave him. He wants to be alone. This is just one victory. We have a long way to go,” was the polite request of boxing executive director Ed Picson.

Fighting in front of a full-house crowd that included his parents Edgar and Melita, Barriga connected with a flurry of shots in the opening round, landing a solid straight in the last seven seconds that prompted a standing 8-count. He finished the round with a 5-2 lead.

The Italian fighter simply could not make good use of his reach advantage against his diminutive opponent who ducked his attempts to make solid shots and came up with counterattacks that put him ahead, 4-2, in the second round.

Despite the lead, the Filipino southpaw did not relent. Like his idol Manny Pacquiao, he repeatedly launched 1-2 combinations and moved away, giving the Italian little chance to connect.

With barely 26 seconds left, he again connected with well-timed combinations and finished pulling away with an 8-3 lead.

When informed of Barriga’s victory, Pacquiao said he was glad that the lone Filipino boxing bet had hurdled his first assignment.

“Panalo ba? (Did he win?) Good, good, good,” Pacquiao told The STAR.

The victory gave the fighter from Panabo, Davao del Norte a big psychological advantage over his next opponent, Kazakhstan’s Birshan Zhakypov, who edged Jeremy Beccu of France, 18-17, in a victory booed by a hometown crowd.

The two were deadlocked at 6 in the first round. The French fighter was ahead, 5-4, in the second round but the crowd became furious when the judges scored what looked like a win for the Frenchman in the third round, 8-6.

Zhou Shimming, the Olympic and world champion who subdued Barriga in the quarterfinals of the World Championships in Bacu, Azerbaijan, drew a bye and enters the next round against Cuban Veitia Soto Yosbany, who scored with lightning-fast jabs and hooks for a lopsided 26-4 conquest of Australian Billy Ward.

The Cuban southpaw was up, 7-1, after the first round, 6-1 in the second, and again led 13-2 in the third for the easy victory.

“It was an easy fight, although I was tired. Everything went as planned. It was too good to be true. I did what my coach told me and used all the techniques I have learned,” said Yosbany.

“I am ready and I want to keep going in the competition. It is my first time in the Olympics but I am confident,” the Cuban added.

In the other match of the upper bracket where Barriga will be fighting until the semifinals, Thomas Essomba of Cameroon defeated Daraa Abdelali, 13-10, and will next fight Irish Paddy Barnes, who drew a bye.

In the only shortened bout of the upper bracket, Laishram Davendro Singh stopped Honduras bet Molina Figueroa Bayron 2:24 into the first round.

The upper bracket matches on Aug. 3 pit Shimming versus Yosbany, Barriga versus Zhakypov and Singh versus fourth seeded Mongolian bet Purevdorj Serdamba, who drew a bye.

 Meanwhile, Jasmine Alkhaldi makes her Olympic debut Wednesday as she sees action in one of the eight heats in the 100-meter freestyle at the Aquatics Center even as Mark Javier hopes to spring a surprise against veteran Brady Ellison of the US in a Round of 32 duel in archery at the Lord’s Cricket Ground here.

The 19-year-old Alkhaldi will try to prove her worth among 50 competitors in a women’s 100-meter freestyle where she hopes to finish among the top 16 although she admits it will take a lot of hard work to at least get near her goal.

“It’s so tough,” said Alkhaldi, who will go up against Mylene Ong of Singapore, Nastja Govejsek of Slovenia, Ester Dara of Hungary, Liliana Lopez of Mexico, Karen Torres of Bolivia and Cielia Tini of Mauritius in Heat No. 3.

None of them, however, are expected to go beyond the qualifying heats.

“I just told her to go for her personal best and have fun,” said coach Pinky Brosas. “The depth of the field is just overwhelming.”

Alkhaldi, a freshman at University of Hawaii, made it here with a clocking of 56.92 seconds, way off the world record of 52.07 and Olympic mark of 53.12, posted by Germany’s Britta Steffen in the Beijing Olympics four years ago.

Steffen, meanwhile, vies in the sixth heat where four other entries have a qualifying time of 53.05 seconds or better.

The other fancied swimmer, Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands, totes a personal best of 52.75 seconds she set last April.

Alkhaldi practiced for one last time Monday morning and thrilled over the rare chance to compete against the best in the world.

Like Alkhaldi, Javier faces tall odds as he slugs it out with veteran Brady Ellison of the US in a Round of 32 duel

“I will go there and play my game. I don’t mind being a heavy underdog. I will do my best for the country,” said Javier who hopes to atone for his so-so showing in the 72-arrow seeding with a solid outing today.

Javier hit seven bull’s eyes and finished with just 649 points out 720 to finish No. 55 in the ranking round while Ellison, a former five-time World Cup champion, compiled 676 points to take the No. 10 place. 

But Javier is unfazed by his American rival, vowing to bounce back strong in a knockout one-on-one match.

“Mark has a chance but he must be focused,” said Korean mentor Chung Jaeyun.

National Archery Association of the Philippines (NAAP) secretary-general Terry Lim also remained hopeful of Javier’s chances to advance, saying: “I’m not losing hope. Mark shot a little lower than his average but because the others scored so highly, it seemed like he was way off. It’s the Olympics and the competition is extremely stiff. But with the new format in the knockout matches, anything can happen. They play a best-of-five series in a race to six points, a system where the competitors start from zero at each end.”

Against Ellison, Javier will be facing a veteran of the Beijing Games. Although he failed to figure in the medal race in 2008, Ellision worked hard to raise the level of his game, winning the Pan Am Games in 2010 and 2011.

NOTES: Former Mayor Mel Lopez watched the Barriga match with his son Manny, who is the Phl chef de mission... The entire Philippine delegation, composed of Philippine Olympic Committee chairman Peping Cojuangco, POC chairman Monico Puentevella, and secretary general Steve Hontiveros, came in full force to cheer the Pinoy boxer. The stint of the Pinoy athletes is supported by ICTSI, the Philippine Sports Commission, Gatorade, Bank of the Philippine Islands and Procter and Gamble.