SINGAPORE: Former world champion boxer Josie Gabuco is gunning for a fourth consecutive SEA Games gold medal after the Filipina reached the women’s light flyweight final on Monday with a convincing victory over Singapore’s Leona Hui.

The diminutive 28-year-old, who became the first person from her country to win a gold medal at the women’s world championships in 2012, showed her experience as she brushed off Hui’s challenge to win the semi-final bout by an unanimous points decision.

Having won in the pinweight category at Vientiane in 2009 and Jakarta in 2011, and in the light flyweight at Naypyidaw two years ago, Gabuco will now look to claim another SEA Games gold when she takes on Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat in Wednesday’s final.

However, it could prove to a tough test against the Thai who was a light flyweight bronze medallist at last year’s world championships and beat Vietnam’s Le Thi Ngoc Anh by unanimous decision on Monday.

“It might be one of the biggest challenges of my career so far but I am determined to win a fourth gold medal -- for my family, my coach and all of my team-mates for their tireless support for me,” said Gabuco.

For Hui, who is boxing at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games for the first time, the opportunity to take on Gabuco was an achievement in itself.

“She’s one of the boxers that I really look up to and it was a privilege and a great experience to step into the ring with her,” said the 29-year-old.

“It was exhilarating to be here and to have the home crowd cheering me on and hopefully, it is a big step forward for women’s boxing here.” The Philippines will be in the hunt for two more gold medals in women’s boxing on Wednesday after Irish Magno beat defending champion Sopida Saturum of Thailand in the flyweight semi-finals.

And Neshty Petecio, a silver medallist at the last two SEA Games, beat Indonesia’s Ester Kalayukin by unanimous decision in the bantamweight category.

Both Filipinas will take on Vietnamese opponents in their finals with Magno meeting Nguyen Thi Yen and Petecio fighting Le Thi Bang.

The women’s featherweight final will be between Indonesia’s Christina Jembay and Tassamalee Thongjan after the pair posted unanimous wins against Riza Pasuit of the Philippines and Myanmar’s Ve Ro Ni Ka on Monday.

Singaporean kayaker struck SEA Games gold on Monday with the partner who helped her shake off a debilitating eating disorder and self-harming problem.

Suzanne Seah, 24, starved herself for years and used to cut herself when in a bad mood, before partner Stephenie Chen’s intervention on their way to K2 500m gold.

Seah earlier told Singapore’s New Paper that her disorders started at high school and continued even after she was drafted into the national programme.

“My eating problem affected training because I was not as strong as I should be,” said Seah, going public with her story in the hope that it would help others.

“My cutting problem also meant that the wounds would re-open when doing weights and, because we are often in the water, they get infected and never healed properly.” Chen resorted to physical violence to help Seah, with her parents and coach also become increasingly concerned.

“I used to smack her damn hard, and told her: ‘You want pain? I’ll smack you,” Chen was quoted as saying. “She needed to realise for herself and, thankfully, she did.” Seah said her problem started at age 15, when she felt she needed to be “thin to fit in” and ate only one apple a day, drinking large amounts of water to keep hunger at bay.

In junior college, she started self-harming. “When something bad happens and I can’t do anything about it, I’ll cut myself,” she said.

But the story had a happy ending when the pair finished narrowly ahead of Thailand’s Woraporn Boonyuhong and Kanokpan Suansan in Monday’s race.

“Stop telling yourself no one cares,” Seah said, in advice for fellow sufferers. “Go and get more friends, surround yourself with more positive people, and you will see that life isn’t so bad.

“Eat what makes you comfortable, and work your way up from there. It’s difficult, but it will be worth it.”

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2015

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