RP cabinet breaks to cheer local pugilist
RP cabinet breaks to cheer local pugilist
MANILA (Agencies): Government affairs took a back seat at a cabinet meeting here Wednesday as President Fidel Ramos ordered television sets wheeled in to watch boxer Mansueto Velasco slug his way closer to the Philippines' first ever Olympic gold medal.
The pint-sized light flyweight did not disappoint. With the Filipino leader's wife, Amelita Ramos, dancing in the Atlanta stands, he was assured of at least a bronze with a 20-10 points victory over Hamid Berhili of Morocco.
"At the end of the cabinet meeting we all stood in standing ovation to cheer Mansueto Velasco," he said, adding that a woman presidential palace liaison officer with the Senate provided a "very accurate and exciting account" of the match.
Even if he lost in the semifinals, his bronze would only be the fifth medal brought home by Filipino Olympians, the latest having been won by older brother Roel Velasco -- also a light flyweight -- at the Barcelona Olympics.
However, kid brother Velasco will be hoping to at least equal or even better the Filipinos' best ever finish -- a silver won by featherweight Anthony Villanueva at the Tokyo Olympics. Velasco will next fight Spain's Rafael Lozano for a place in the final.
Ramos vowed to watch the quarterfinal bout of the other surviving Filipino boxer as well -- Hiroshima Asian Games gold medalist Elias Recaido, who faces a heavily favored Cuban flyweight.
Top job
Meanwhile in Bangkok, the two Thai boxers who punched their way into the semifinals at the Olympic Games are carrying more than the medal hopes of the country on their shoulders, military officers said yesterday.
A gold medal for either fighter could give a high-profile boost to Thailand's deputy army commander and help him move into the top military job in September, the officers said.
General Chetta Thanajaro is chairman of Thailand's Amateur Boxing Association, and a gold medal in Atlanta for either Thai boxer would improve his chances of becoming army chief when the current commander retires, they said.
Chetta is one of two men widely tipped to be named army commander -- the most powerful job in Thailand's politically influential armed forces -- in the annual reshuffle next month. The other is Supreme Command Chief of Staff, General Mongkol Ampornpisit.
"While the boxers are competing for the gold medals in Atlanta, the generals are competing for the golden opportunity back home," one senior officer told Reuters.
"A Thai boxer winning a gold medal will definitely boost Chetta's chances," he said, speaking anonymously.
Thailand's Somluck Kamsing is through to the semifinals in the featherweight division and Vichai Rachanont is in the bantamweight semifinal.