| Bacolod City, Philippines | Friday, January 5, 2007 |
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Boxer Joan Tipon fittingly capped another inspiring year for Negros sports by winning the bantamweight golf in the 15th Asian Games. After Olympian Harry Tanamor was suspended from the National Team bound for Doha, the 24-year-old Tipon was thrust into the limelight and loomed as the brightest gold medal hope. And he did not disappoint. Ranged against Olympic silver medalist Woorapoj Petchkoom of Thailand, Tipon was pushed to the limit but managed to come away via a majority decision, after the score-line ended at 13-all in the bantamweight semifinals. Television footages showed Tipon in tears as the referee raised his hands in victory. "Seeing the crowd all cheering for me brought me to tears. I just realized my hard work had paid off," Tipon, who hails from Sibucao, Barangay Banago, Bacolod City, said. The win set up a gold medal match with Soon Chul Han of South Korea, whom Bacoleno easily disposed of 21-10, touching off a wild celebration inside the Aspire Hall 5. The victory not only gave Tipon his first Asiad gold medal, but also placed him in an elite club of Negros boxers who have struck gold in the Asian Games. Reynaldo Galido, Mansueto Velasco and Elias Recaido completed a golden hat-trick for the Philippines in the 1994 Hiroshima Games. "I prayed and read the Bible before and after every match," Tipon told the DAILY STAR when asked what was the key to his Asian Games triumph. Tipon received P1.6 million in incentives, P1.5 of which came from the national government pursuant to the Athletes and Coaches Incentives Act. He was also conferred the Dungganon nga Bacolodnon award by the Bacolod City Government, which also awarded a P100,000 incentive. Tipon arrived to a hero's welcome prepared by the Talisay City Government on Christmas Day. The boxer trained under Talisay's ATLETA program from 1999 to 2001, before he joined the Philippine Team. In October, Tipon showed world-class form in winning the gold medal in the tough Tammer Cup in Tampere, Finland, after coming out on top in the GreenHill Boxing Tournament in Finland. This year, Tipon is setting his sights on ruling the World Championships. But he has loftier goals in mind: Snare the first gold medal for the Philippines in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. |
