MANILA, Philippines—It started with a bottle of Coke.
Carlo Paalam was just a thin nine-year-old when he chanced upon a neighbor setting up boxing exercises.
After hearing mass in Cagayan de Oro, Paalam was enticed to try boxing when his neighbor told him to just spar with his son and the winner would get a bottle of Coke.
Now, Paalam is on his way to the Olympics for a chance to give the country an elusive gold medal.
“It was after church then when I got home I saw my neighbor, who was a boxer, boxing and training his son,” said Paalam in Filipino. “He then called me to come over that I should spar with his son.”
“I was sca…
Keep on reading: From Coke as prize to aiming for Olympic gold: Carlo Paalam’s boxing journey