Eumir Marcial marches on to quarterfinals of boxing Olympic qualifiers

Eumir Felix Marcial barged into the quarterfinals of the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Thursday in Amman, Jordan.

The World Championships silver medalist dominated Kirra Ruston of Australia, 5-0, in the men's middleweight preliminaries to continue his campaign for a slot in Tokyo.

"Ito ang matagal nang pangarap namin ng tatay ko, ang makapunta sa Olympics. Hindi ko na pakakawalan ito," said the Southeast Asian Games gold medalist.

The boxer, who is the no. 1 seed in the division, will next  face Byamba Erdene-Otgonbaatar of Mongolia on Sunday.

"Eumir will be ready for him," said Philippine team foreign consultant Don Abnett. "This is the best condition I’ve seen Marcial in. The five-week training camp in Thailand prior to this tournament boosted not only his physical state but his mental state as well."

World champion Nesthy Petecio also took care of business in the women's featherweight division and advanced to the semifinals. She is one win away from officially booking her spot at the Olympics in July.

Meanwhile, James Palicte bowed to World Championships bronze medalist Elnur Abduraimov of Uzbekistan in the men's lightweight, 5-0.

The Philippine boxing team resumes its campaign to qualify for the Olympics on Saturday, with scheduled bouts for Irish Magno, Carlo Paalam, and Ian Clark Bautista. —MGP, GMA News