Leadership row takes toll on Thai fighters

INCHEON, South Korea – What’s happening to many national sports associations at home – deterioration of sports because of inept leadership and intramurals – is happening to the boxing association of Thailand, a former Asian powerhouse now losing its supremacy in the lighter divisions of the Asian Games.

A reporter from Thailand said the losses of Butdee Chatchai to Korean Choe Sangdon (3-0), Thathi Donchai to Filipino Mario Fernandez (3-0) and Thogkrathok Anaval to Indian Kuldep Singh (3-0) in the early round are unusual situation for Thailand.

Thailand has only six boxers left, with one more expected to lose to Korea and two women not given much of a chance to advance.

“There was a takeover of the boxing organization before the 2012 Olympic Games and the new leadership could not continue the boxing program for many reasons, one of them financial,” said the reporter.

The new leadership dispensed with the services of old coaches and replaced them with new ones. The resident Cuban coaches are still there but could not do much to continue training the boxers under new coaches.

“Our boxers are recycling old players who lack the support because they belong to the old leadership. They haven’t had good training as they did in the past since January,” he said, explaining why Thailand could send only three boxers to the Asian Games.

This could make the Philippines the best performing Southeast Asian nation in the Games with five of its nine bets already in the round of 16. 

The Filipinos this year didn’t have the luck of the draw, which saw other countries getting a bye to the next round.

Bantamweight Mario Fernandez, the first to advance to the round of 16 Wednesday, marched to the quarterfinals yesterday with a 3-0 (30-27) win over Nepal’s Rai Puran. 

Compatriot Charly Suarez was fighting Kumar Akhil of India late last night for a place in the quarterfinal.

Scheduled for today’s boxing program at the Seonhak Gymnasium are flyweight Ian Clark Bautista and women boxers Josie Gabuco (flyweight) and Nesty Petecio.

Bautista will have his hands full against Korean Choe Sangdon, who ousted Oyeltshen Kinley of Bhutan, 3-0 (30-27) Thursday.

Gabuco is climbing the ring in a higher division when she fights Lin Yu Ting of Chinese Taipei in the flyweight division (46-49 kg).