00:00 Meanwhile, boxer Yumir Marshall making the country proud after winning a silver medal in the 19th Asian Games in a new weight class.
00:07 Now, what is next for the Olympian boxer after punching his ticket to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, France?
00:15 Let's find out. Joining us today to go all out on this story is, there he is, Tokyo bronze medalist in the Olympics.
00:24 And he's moving on to the Paris Olympics, Yumir Marshall, from his home, beautiful home in Tagaytay,
00:30 your beautiful home. Good evening, Idol, and welcome back to the show.
00:34 Good evening to you, sir, and to everyone listening here in the CNN Philippines.
00:40 Good evening and good night to all the listeners.
00:45 Good evening to the fellow countrymen of Idol Yumir Marshall.
00:49 First of all, congratulations, Yumir. It was a tough one. You were one of the unexpected, but still,
00:56 you finished the podium with a silver medal. It's no joke. How did you feel after that?
01:00 Because you came back on Saturday or Sunday, right? And now you're resting.
01:08 I think it was Wednesday, sir.
01:10 Wednesday, okay. How are you? After how many days? Did you go back to the gym or did you rest?
01:18 I'm fine. I'm here in Tagaytay, where the POC President, Abraham Vamol-Tolentino, gave us his house.
01:31 When I came back from the Asian Games, I went straight back to training.
01:38 But it wasn't hard training. I just did jogging and shadow boxing to continue my physical condition.
01:46 Because it's a waste. I built up my body for a long time to be in good condition.
01:53 And now I'm here. I want to continue. And I'm also preparing for my next professional fight.
02:03 When is your next fight, sir? You said you're waiting for the appointment with the embassy.
02:11 But you're scheduled. When do you plan to leave? When is your timetable before the Olympics?
02:18 I hope as soon as possible that I can leave and come back to the U.S. so I can start training.
02:27 And hopefully, I can fight after the year because before the Olympics, I can at least have two fights.
02:39 And then, we'll focus on training for the Olympics.
02:47 Let's go back to the Asian Games. I said you're one of those who are expected to win gold.
02:54 And you can do it. You even reached the gold medal match.
02:57 If we go back to that, our opponent is a bit strong. Your opponent is a Chinese opponent who is taller.
03:04 But you, if you go back to that match, you won the first round. I remember it was 10-9 if I'm not mistaken.
03:10 How satisfied are you with the result here at the Asian Games?
03:19 Of course, I'm dismayed because I thought I won.
03:23 I thought so too.
03:24 Like what I'm saying to the fans, to everyone who's asking me, I respect the judges' decision.
03:38 And congratulations to my opponent.
03:43 I also admit that I made a mistake. I made a mistake in my discard.
03:54 I made a mistake in what I did.
03:59 I said I have a lot of time to prepare for the Paris Olympics.
04:08 And I qualified. So I made my defeat a motivation for me to do better in the competition.
04:21 So I can absorb and feel that I still have a lot to learn.
04:31 So I was more motivated because I can only aim for the finals and qualify for the Olympics.
04:39 I didn't expect that.
04:41 Although I said to myself that I will do my best, but I don't know what the result will be.
04:50 Because you know, to be a Filipino middleweight boxer is already very difficult for us.
04:58 Because we know that we are small Filipinos.
05:03 But here in light heavyweight, I didn't expect that I would come here in light heavyweight.
05:11 But you did it.
05:13 The one you're facing, China, in the gold medal match, is he the one you had a hard time against?
05:20 And you said you gave everything and you had some shortcomings.
05:26 I think that standing 8 count, you shouldn't have called it, but you got a standing 8 count.
05:32 I think that's a big thing in scorecards.
05:35 But this Chinese opponent, is he the one you had a hard time against?
05:40 And what was the one that you had a hard time against?
05:43 You said that if you focus, you can recover because of your shortcomings in the next match.
05:51 You know, I had a hard time against Thailand because Thailand is very tall and big.
06:01 He's good at timing.
06:03 So for me, Thailand is even harder.
06:06 Because if you notice, China is tall but his punches are slow.
06:14 I said that for me, it would be easier to fight him because he's going in, he's going in.
06:23 Which is an advantage for me because I'm small.
06:29 So I think I still have a lot to look at.
06:35 You know in Europe, the men are the ones who will face the opponents.
06:40 In America, Australia is also good.
06:48 So I still have a lot to focus on and notice what I need to improve.
06:56 Because when it comes to the Olympics, everything is already polished.
07:01 The boxers are already in their best shape.
07:03 So I don't just need to watch China, I need to watch more.
07:08 And you know, some haven't qualified yet.
07:12 There's still a qualifying in February, which is the World Championship.
07:17 And then after that, they have a World Qualifying again.
07:20 So there are still a lot of boxers who will qualify.
07:23 And then it doesn't mean that I'm the one who qualified now.
07:26 We are the ones who qualified, he's the one who scored.
07:29 He's the best because there are still a lot of people who haven't qualified.
07:34 So all the opponents who qualified and will qualify, that's our preparation, sir.
07:45 Well, you went up in the weight class here.
07:47 Does that mean you will also go up in the weight class in the pros?
07:50 And how is the crowd there?
07:52 Because aside from the Chinese, the crowd there in China, I'm sure, is a friend of their fighter.
07:59 And did you really get hurt when you were standing 8 count?
08:02 We will ask a lot of questions to Ymir Marshall.
08:05 And Ymir has been waiting for months before the Paris Olympics that he was already qualified.
08:10 Stay tuned, Ymir. We will be quick.
08:12 And we're still having our all-out conversation with Asian Games silver medalist Ymir Marshall.
08:17 Stay tuned to Sportsesko only here on CNN Philippines where we go all out for today's top sports stories.
08:22 We'll be right back. Stay tuned.
08:24 Welcome back to Sportsesko only here on CNN Philippines.
08:26 And our guest today is 19th Asian Games silver medalist fresh from his victory in China, Ymir Marshall,
08:34 who's already qualified for the Paris Olympics.
08:37 Okay, I asked you before the commercial that you moved to a weight class.
08:42 You said it's not that easy, right?
08:44 You said middleweight, then light heavyweight.
08:46 Does that mean you will also go up in the weight class in the pros, Ymir?
08:48 No, sir. I will stay in the middleweight class.
08:52 Because it's harder for the pros because my natural weight is really middleweight.
08:59 Correct. Correct.
09:01 So, let's go back to the gold medal match.
09:03 I said the crowd in China.
09:05 I remember you were there in the Gilas Pilipinas.
09:07 They lost to China.
09:09 You, when you fought against China, how heavy was the crowd because they were supporting the Chinese fighter?
09:19 Was the Chinese crowd loud?
09:21 We can hear it.
09:23 It was super loud, sir.
09:25 I couldn't hear anything but their voices.
09:27 When I fought against Thailand and Syria, I could hear the voices of my teammates and coaches.
09:45 I could do what they were saying.
09:49 They were saying, "Faint. Move your head."
09:53 But when I was in China, I couldn't hear anything.
09:57 It was just the crowd.
09:59 That's one of the reasons I got distracted.
10:07 I made a lot of mistakes.
10:11 That's why I accepted my defeat.
10:13 I told you that the first round was yours.
10:17 The second round was a big thing.
10:19 That's why you gave it to him.
10:21 You gave it to your Chinese opponent.
10:25 But the standing eight count in the second round, did you really get hurt?
10:31 Is that why you were counted as standing eight?
10:35 Yes, when I was counted, I wasn't really hit.
10:43 But when he punched me, I was hit.
10:51 I wasn't really dizzy but I knew that I was hit by a Chinese opponent.
10:59 Maybe the referee saw it first and then when I was counted, it wasn't clear.
11:09 I told myself that if I wasn't counted, I would have won the second round.
11:15 I hope that second round was yours.
11:17 What is the biggest improvement you can say since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics?
11:25 Because you learned a lot.
11:28 What do you think will be a factor, especially since you will be going to Paris for your second Olympic appearance?
11:35 I think that my participation in the pro competition is a big thing for me.
11:41 Because my movements and thoughts became more mature.
11:49 I became calmer, even though the opponent was stronger.
11:54 I was taking time to get the discards that I wanted to do.
12:02 Before, when I was in the team, I was just punching.
12:08 You were a cow.
12:10 Yes, you can see that my opponent was a Thai opponent.
12:16 He won the first round but I stayed calm and composed.
12:21 Then we got the knockout.
12:23 Actually, I saw that in Asian Games, you were also fighting against a Thai opponent.
12:28 I saw that you were very controlled.
12:32 You were not always 100% all out.
12:36 Sometimes you were slow, timing was off, you were just punching.
12:39 Now, you are the only four athletes who qualified for the Olympics in Paris.
12:43 EJ, Obienna, you.
12:45 Who else do you want to be part of the Philippine team for the Olympics?
12:49 Of course, my teammates in boxing.
12:56 If they can qualify for the weight class, I would like that.
13:01 Because it feels different when everyone is training together.
13:06 They are preparing for the Olympics.
13:09 It's a big thing.
13:11 I hope that my teammates will do their best and we will be together in the Paris Olympics.
13:19 Before I let you go, I want to ask you a question.
13:23 How was the experience of watching the Philippines' gilas?
13:27 When you watched the gilas and they won the medal?
13:31 I was very happy.
13:34 I rarely watch live basketball but I was very happy.
13:40 I was not an athlete when I watched the gilas.
13:45 I was just a fan.
13:47 I was very happy.
13:50 I was a fanboy.
13:51 Whenever they missed the shoot, I was also annoyed.
13:57 I was very happy.
14:00 What do you want to say to all the Filipinos who support you, Mir, and to the Filipino athletes?
14:09 To all the Filipinos who support me and to all who pray and trust me, thank you very much.
14:18 To all who sent me messages that I should be the gold medalist, I really appreciate it.
14:26 Even if I won the silver medal, I really appreciate it because it's for the Filipinos and my supporters.
14:34 I really appreciate it and I am very thankful.
14:37 I was more motivated by their messages.
14:42 I will do my best in my practice, especially for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
14:51 To all the Filipinos and to all who want to support me, I hope we can prepare for the Paris Olympics together.
15:06 You watched the gilas, Mir.
15:08 Justin Brownlee and you were one on one. Who won?
15:10 Me, sir.
15:12 When we were boxing.
15:14 Don't judge me.
15:15 Yes, yes.
15:16 But it's possible.
15:18 It's possible.
15:19 He's big.
15:20 We were sparring.
15:23 If he lost, we were playing basketball.
15:25 But if he didn't lose, it's good, sir.
15:29 We'll talk about it next time.
15:31 But we can't ignore the big one.
15:36 We might not reach.
15:38 Mir, thank you very much. Congratulations. Let's talk again.
15:42 Good luck in the Paris Olympics.
15:44 Thank you so much, sir.
15:46 Ymir Marchand, silver medalist from the 19th Asian Games in China.
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