Payla injured, out of RP team

The Amateur Boxing Association of the Phils. (ABAP) yesterday dropped Doha Asian Games gold medalist Violito Payla from the RP team chasing Olympic berths in the second and final Asian Olympic Qualifier in Kazakhstan on March 16-24.

Payla recently sustained a shoulder injury while training in Baguio City. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test showed his left shoulder had a partial torn rotator cuff, which  has been giving him pain.

“It is sad that Payla will no longer be able to compete in the final Asian Olympic boxing qualifying in Kazakhstan this month,” said ABAP president Manny Lopez.

Dr. Raul Canlas, chief of the Philippine Center for Sports Medicine, confirmed that Payla, veteran of the Athens Olympiad, would not be able to train fully for the coming Olympic qualifier.

Canlas said it is physically impossible to rehabilitate Payla in two weeks in time for the qualifier. He will be able to resume gym work after one month.

Although Lopez, has not yet named Payla’s replacement, light flyweight Godfrey Castro could take the spot if he moved up in weight division. The other candidate is Rey Saludar, a Panabo, Davao del Sur native who was a losing finalist in last year’s tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The RP-PLDT Smart boxing team is hard-pressed coming up with a creditable performance in Kazakhstan following the debacle in the Bangkok elims where the country’s top five boxers all fell by the wayside in the face of topnotch opposition.

Bantamweight Joan Tipon, also a Doha Asian gold medal winner, came close to notching an Olympic berth but fell to Thai ace Worapoj Petchkoom in the semifinal round.

“The coaching staff, headed by Cuban coach Enrique Tissert, is still studying Payla’s replacement from the national training pool following rigid procedures,” said Lopez.