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Filipino boxer Carlo Paalam during the gold medal match of the men's 55kg class in the 2026 Asian Games, October 2, 2026 at the Nishio Gymnasium. POC Media
(UPDATED) Carlo Paalam will go home with a silver medal from the 2026 Asian Games after a tough loss against Japan's Yamaguchi Rui in the final of the men's 55kg class on Friday.
Paalam was looking to end the Philippines' 16-year wait for a boxing gold medal in the Asian Games, but the 28-year-old fell just a bit short.
READ: Carlo Paalam seeks to end PH's gold medal drought in Asiad boxing
Yamaguchi got the nod of three of the five judges for a split decision win.
It was a frustrating result for Paalam, who felt that he was shortchanged by Uzbek referee Maruf Urdushev.
"[The] referee again, I don't know, not a good decision—hindi ko alam ang desisyon ng referee po palagi, ako palagi tinitingnan," said Paalam after the bout.
"Kahit anong momentum, ini-stop pa rin po, tapos iba talaga yung referee rin... yung referee talaga parang ako palagi nakikita," he added.
Four of the five judges scored the first round for Yamaguchi, though neither boxer was particularly active in the frame. Paalam ramped up his activity in the second and landed some eye-catching punches, but only got the nod of two of the judges.
Knowing that they needed a stoppage, Philippine boxing team coach Ronald Chavez told Paalam to let his hands go and hunt for a knockout.
Paalam followed his coach's instructions and poured in the aggression, winning the round on all five of the scorecards. But Yamaguchi did enough to evade a knockdown, and the home bet claimed the gold medal.
"Sa laban hindi man tayo agrabyado, kaya lang doon talaga tayo madadali sa referee, sa judge—sa referee parang pinag-initan," said Chavez.
"Sa first round nga akala ko lalamang pa tayo eh, kaya sabi ko alanganin na 'to, ito na gawin natin, wala tayong gagawin na iba kundi pag hindi mo ma-knockout 'yan, kahit anong gagawin natin," the coach added.
Paalam's silver is the only medal for the Philippine boxing team in the Asiad, with Olympians Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio having fallen short of the medal rounds.
It's also the sixth silver for the Philippines.
"Hindi maganda," Paalam lamented, "Pero okay lang po, move forward po tayo."
"Gawin pa rin 'yung best po — training pa rin, tsaka pahinga muna," he added.