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Manila: The Philippines has suffered a major blow in its bid to send more boxers to the Beijing Olympics after leading flyweight hope Violito Payla sustained an injury.
"We're sort of praying for a miracle," William Ramirez, head of the Philippine Sports Commission, said. "I was more excited with the team that we sent to Chicago last year. One of our boxers with the best chance of nailing a slot in the Beijing Games got injured during training. But we're not losing hope."
Kazakhstan hosts the final Asian qualifying boxing tournament from March 17-23 with 19 slots up for grabs.
The Philippines is hoping to win two places after a dismal performance in a previous round in January.
Only one boxer, light flyweight Harry Tanamor, has qualified for the Olympics from Philippines so far.
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