Barriga clinches berth in 2012 London Olympics

Light flyweight Mark Anthony Barriga is the first Filipino to qualify in the 2012 London Olympics earning a spot in next year's Summer Games via the backdoor. Barriga advanced to the London Olympics after China's Zou Shiming entered the finals with a 15-8 victory over David Ayrapetyan of Russia in the 2011 AIBA World Championship in Baku, Azerbaijan. Barriga could have earned an outright Olympic slot if he advanced to the quarterfinals but missed the chance when he was eliminated by Zou, 12-5, in their Round-of-16 match. But under International Boxing Association (Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur, AIBA) rules, the two boxers who lost to the finalists in the Round-of-16 of the biennial boxing tilt will also make it to the Olympics which allowed Barriga to book a spot for London. Barriga, an 18-year-old find by the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) in Panabo City in Davao Del Norte, is the first Filipino athlete to enter the Olympics and may also be the youngest Pinoy in London. Barriga won his first bout in the AIBA World Championship with a 12-5 decision over Romania's Stefan Caslarov. He stunned 2008 Beiging Olympics bronze medalist Patrick Barnes of Ireland in the second round, 20-12, before losing to Zou. Zou, still undefeated since 2005, will take on Jong Shin of Korea after the second-seed beat Serdamba Purevdorj of Mongolia, 20-11, in the semifinal round. Barriga followed the footsteps of the now-retired Harry Tanamor, who qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics despite a first-round exit in the qualifying tournament. Meanwhile, Rey Saludar failed to duplicate Barriga's feat after Rau'Shee Warren of the United States was outclassed by top-ranked Misha Aloian of Russia, 17-13, in the flyweight division. Warren beat Saludar, 22-12, in the Round-of-16. Saludar can still earn an Olympic berth when he competes in the Asian continental qualifiers to be held next year in Kazakhstan. Sixty-four boxers have already qualified in London by advancing to the quarterfinal round of the tournament. Russia and Ukraine have the most boxers to qualify with five apiece while Cuba, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan had four each. Azerbaijan, Brazil, China, Hungary, Korea, Mongolia and Wales have two while Armenia, Australia, Bulgaria, Iran, Japan, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Tajikistan and Thailand have one each. — JVP, GMA News