PH BOXERS CLAIM 3 BRONZES AT ASIAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS

(UPDATE) FILIPINO boxers Ronel Soyum, Mark Ashley Fajardo and Xian Baguhin bagged a bronze medal each at the Asian U22 and U19 Boxing Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

Soyum defeated China’s Shaoqing Li via unanimous decision in the U22 men’s 55-kilogram (kg) class in the quarterfinals on Monday to secure his bronze as a semifinalist.

Soyum withdrew from his semifinal bout, though, due to a cut above his left eyebrow, which he sustained against Li.

Soyum’s camp deemed its best for him not to fight Mongolian Durguunsaikhan Kharkhuu in the semifinal on Wednesday to prevent further damage on his injury.

“I can’t compete tomorrow in the semifinal because my vision is really impaired on my left eye, so we decided to withdraw from the fight,” Soyum said in Filipino in an interview with Radyo Pilipinas Sports.

“I’m still grateful to the Lord because this is my first time in an elite level competition, and I managed to bag a bronze medal. I’m still very happy with this experience.”

Fajardo seized his bronze medal after a disqualification win against Kinley Kinley of Bhutan in the men’s 65-kg division quarterfinals on Monday.

Like Soyum, Fajardo could not upgrade his bronze medal to at least a silver after pulling out of his semifinal match due to a left-hand injury.

Fajardo was supposed to face Kazakh Ilya Kalinin in the semifinal on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Baguhin grabbed her bronze medal after scoring a split decision win against Japanese Moena Kashiwada in the U19 women’s 51-kg class. 

2025-08-06T16:14:43Z