BOXING
Cuban Yankiel heads into quarter-finals
WANCHAI RUJAWONGSANTI
BEIJING : Worapoj Petchkoom's ambition to bring home a medal for his ailing father ended in heartbreak last night.
The Thai failed in his bid to add another Olympic medal to the silver he won in Athens after being whipped 10-2 by Cuba's Yankiel Leon Alarcon in the bantamweight quarter-finals.
With his face bruised, the Surat Thani native burst into tears after the onslaught and could only talk briefly to the media.
His father Thaweep has been battling lymph node cancer.
"The first person I want to apologise is my father," he said. "I am sorry that I failed to win a medal for my father. I wanted to make him healthy with a medal."
Alarcon, a bronze medallist at the 2008 Pan-American Games, was much too strong for the Thai and took a 2-0 lead after the opening round.
The Cuban raced to a 5-1 lead after two rounds and further punished the 27-year-old Thai in the third round to go 9-1 in front.
Worapoj's attempt to land a knock-out punch in the final round became futile as his opponent comfortably fended off his challenge.
"I fought badly and I am very sorry," said Worapoj, who also lost to a Cuban, Guillermo Rigondeaux, in the Athens final.
"I want to apologise to all Thai people. I want to apologise for not being able to raise the Thai flag."
Gen Taweep Jantararoj, president of the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand, said Worapoj did his best and that he believed he lost because the coach made the wrong plans.
He claimed he had told the coach to tell Worapoj to fight on the outside but it turned out that the Thai tried to move inside.
"It was the mistake of the coach and not the boxer," he said.
Worapoj said before the tournament that he would quit if he won a medal in Beijing. But after the loss he said he might continue fighting.
Worapoj almost came from nowhere to glory in Athens.
An army officer, he quit the sport after the Games because he was upset that he did not gain promotion for winning an Olympic medal. He later made a comeback but has since had very little success.
There are three Thai boxers remaining in the Games. Defending light-welterweight champion Manus Boonjumnong is in the semi-finals, while light-flyweight Amnat Ruenroeng and flyweight Somjit Jongjohar are in the last eight.
Amnat will be trying to claim a medal in his Olympic debut against Mongolia's Serdamba Purevdorj in the quarter-finals today.
He said he had never fought his opponent but had studied his tape and found that he was a southpaw with fast hands.
The ex-convict said he would try to fight on the outside as Purevdorj, who defeated China's Zou Shiming at the Asian Championships, prefers a slugfest.
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