MANILA, Philippines – Boxer Nesthy Petecio joined a distinguished list of Filipinos who have won multiple Olympic medals.
The only question is what color her newest medal will be as Petecio advanced to the semifinals of the women’s 57kg division in the Paris Games after thumping China’s Xu Zichun at the North Paris Arena on Sunday, August 4.
Petecio won convincingly via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, to assure herself of at least a bronze three years after she bagged silver in the Tokyo Olympics.
Xu proved no match for Petecio, who virtually clinched the win through the first two rounds as she enjoyed a sizable lead on the scorecards, with her powerful left hook finding the head of the Chinese multiple times.
Going for broke, Xu engaged Petecio in a slugfest in the final round, but ended up unsuccessful in her bid to score a knockout.
Petecio became the latest member of an exclusive club of multiple Olympic medalists from the Philippines that includes late swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso and weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz.
Yldefonso won the Philippines’ first-ever Olympic medal with a bronze in the 1928 Amsterdam Games and bagged another bronze in 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.
Meanwhile, Diaz captured the Philippines’ breakthrough Olympic gold in Tokyo five years after she copped silver in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
The pride of Davao del Sur also became the second Filipino boxer to nail a guaranteed medal in Paris after Aira Villegas (women’s 50kg) also reached the semifinals.
Eyeing a return trip to the Olympic final, Petecio battles Poland’s Julia Szeremeta next on Wednesday, August 7 (Thursday, August 8, Manila time). – Rappler.com
