Marcial thinks he won Asiad gold medal fight, but says he respects judges’ decision

MANILA, Philippines – Asian Games silver medalist Eumir Marcial thought he won his Asian Games gold medal match against China’s Tanglatihan Tuohetaerbieke.

Marcial settled for the silver medal after all five judges ruled in favor of the hometown bet Tuohetaerbieke in their final bout of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China Thursday night.

This, despite Marcial hitting more power shots in the pivotal third round, while the Chinese boxer kept his distance with jabs and straights.

The Filipino boxer, however, acknowledged it’s Tuohetaerbieke’s time.

“It is his time now. I will wait for my time. I thought I won,” he told reporters in Filipino after the match, as seen in the video posted by One Sports on Facebook.

“But of course, we will respect the decision of the judges. And of course, I congratulate him for taking home the gold,” he added.

Despite the very small setback, Marcial is setting his sights on the bigger fish - next year’s Paris Olympics.

“This is a step towards my dream of getting a gold in the Olympics,” he said.

“I will use this as an inspiration to continue training hard in my next fights,” he added.

Marcial is the fourth Filipino to secure an Olympic seat.

Pole vault star EJ Obiena and gymnasts Carlos Yulo and Aleah Finnegan already punched their tickets to the Olympics.