Winning an Olympic gold medal has been the ultimate dream of Eumir Marcial ever since. And there’s no stopping him in realizing such.
As proud as he was with a bronze finish in the recently-concluded 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the middleweight sensation out of Zamboanga definitely wants to bag the biggest prize of them all.
“Sa akin naman, siyempre pagsikapan pa rin namin ‘yung gold kasi ‘yun ‘yung pangarap namin e,” he told the Philippine Sportswriters Assocation Forum. “Ako, hanggang ngayon, simula pagkabata, pangarap ko talaga mag-gold.
“Tulad kay Ate Haidie [Diaz] na nag-silver siya, lalo niyang pinagbutihan ‘yung training niya. Ngayon nakuha niya ‘yung gold,” he added, referring to weightlifting queen Hidilyn Diaz’ golden finish in Tokyo after getting silver in the 2016 Games.
“Ganun din po kami, lalo po namin pagbutihin ang ensayo namin. At nandito po sa puso namin na gusto namin makuha ‘yung gold.”
But it isn’t lost on Marcial that it is easier said than done. And he cited the many possibilities that could happen in the sport of boxing.
The 25-year-old even used Oleksandr Khyzhniak as an example to prove his point. The tough Ukrainian, who beat Marcial via split decision in the semifinals, was about to win the gold until a mishap tore his dreams apart.
Khyzhniak owned the first two rounds and was just 90 seconds away from becoming an Olympic champion. Then a left to the jaw by Brazilian counterpart Hebert Sousa in the third sent him to the mat — and finished the bout.
“Alam niyo naman po ang sport ng boxing, maraming pwede mangyari bago mag-Olympics at pagdating dun sa Olympics. Isang halimbawa ko na rin po ‘yung naging kalaban ko nung semifinals,” Marcial said.
“Pagdating po sa Finals panalong-panalo na niya — first round, second round, panalo siya all judges. And then last round, one minute na lang, mananalo na rin siya kahit ‘di na siya magsuntok. Eh na-tsambahan pa. Na-knockout.”
As tough as the journey towards Olympic glory could be, though, Marcial remains laser-focused on accomplishing such. And he takes to heart the ‘Walang hihinto hangga’t walang ginto’ mantra of silver medalist Nesthy Petecio.
But he will also eye another title at the same time — the middleweight championships in the pro ranks.
“Gusto ko ring maging champion sa middleweight division,” said Marcial, who plans to be the second Filipino to rule the division since Ceferino Garcia — the middleweight champion from Oct 2, 1939 to May 23, 1940.
