MANILA, Philippines – It might be the final Olympics for Filipina boxer Nesthy Petecio.
And she hopes to end it at the top of the podium as Petecio looks to complete her unfinished business after settling for a silver medal in the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Petecio begins her golden quest in the Paris Olympics against India’s Jaismine Lamboria when they lock horns in the round of 32 of the women’s 57kg class at the North Paris Arena on Tuesday, July 30.
“I want to exit boxing on a high note. I want to leave the sport by making history,” said Petecio in Filipino in June.
While the Philippines won 8 of its 14 Olympic medals overall in boxing, no Filipino boxer has struck gold.
Petecio and the rest of the national boxing team, which includes Carlo Paalam, Eumir Marcial, Aira Villegas, and Hergie Bacyadan, aim to change that.
But achieving that goal does not come easy despite the absence of Japan’s Sena Irie, who retired from the sport a year after besting Petecio for the gold in Tokyo.
If Petecio manages to overcome Lamboria, she will face European Games titlist Amina Zidani of France in the round of 16.
Also in the same bracket are Italy’s Irma Testa and Kazakhstan’s Karina Ibragimova, who went one-two in the previous IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships.
Drawn in the other bracket is top seed and two-time world titlist Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei.
The boxing team got off to a promising start as Villegas advanced to the round of 16 of the women’s 50kg division after a unanimous decision win over Morocco’s Yasmine Mouttaki.
Marcial (men’s 80kg), Paalam (men’s 57kg), and Bacyadan (women’s 75kg) begin their campaigns in the coming days. – Rappler.com
