Eumir Marcial led a surprise birthday celebration for his compatriot, Carlo Paalam.
Birthday surprise after an intense sparring session? We got you.
Returning Olympian Carlo Paalam spent his 26th birthday with a surprise celebration from Team Philippines after his continuous preparation for Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Fellow boxer and Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Eumir Marcial led the festivities just as Paalam ended his sparring session against Enkhsaikhan Oyunerdene of Mongolia.
Marcial served as the special referee of that session.
Despite being away from his family, Paalam felt the love on his special day from Team Philippines six weeks away from Paris 2024.
He admitted that he is not fond of celebrating his birthday eversince and was happy to see his wife and child alongside his parents celebrate his birthday despite being far away from them.
"Masaya naman kasi nakita ko yung baby ko at asawa ko tska [sina] Mama at Papa ko," he told.
The 26-year-old punched his way to his second straight Olympics after pulling off a unanimous decision win over India’s Sachin Sachin in the semifinal of the men’s -57kg division at the World Boxing Olympic Qualification last June.
[ALSO READ: Carlo Paalam eyes different result in Paris 2024 after securing hard-fought Olympic qualification]
After a silver medal finish in Tokyo 2020, Paalam is back on the Olympic stage eager to finally complete the job and bring home the country’s first-ever gold in boxing.
He joins Marcial, fellow Tokyo runner-up Nesthy Petecio and the debuting Aira Villegas and Hergie Bacyadan in the Philippine boxing team for Paris 2024.
[With reports from Carlo Pamintuan, Nic Earnshaw]