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Villegas, Petecio assure Olympic medals for Team PH
Heavy-hitting performances propelled Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio into the next round of their Paris campaign as both Filipina boxers blew past their respective events, securing two Olympic medals for Team Philippines.
Continuing a display of boxing mastery, Petecio outpoints Chinese foe Xu Zichun, 5-0, in the women’s 57kg quarterfinals bout Sunday afternoon, August 4, at the North Paris Arena.
The 32-year-old pride of Davao del Sur made sure her rival was no match for her as she clinched the win through the first two rounds of the match. Petecio reached the safe waters in the third round but still opted to engage a suddenly active Xu, who attempted to reclaim the advantage that clearly belonged to the Philippines.
Petecio won via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, to assure herself a chance to surpass the silver medal finish that she bagged during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
PHOTO COURTESY: ONE SPORTS
“Hopefully, we can bring home [the gold] this time,” said Petecio in an interview with One Sports.
Eyeing a return trip to the Olympic final, Petecio battles Poland’s Julia Szeremeta next on Thursday, August 8 (Manila time).
Villegas, meanwhile, assures herself of at least a bronze in her maiden appearance at the Paris Olympics after a gripling split decision win over home bet Wassila Lkhadiri of France in the women’s 50kg quarterfinals.
It was a chance for the Tacloban boxer to redeem herself after she absorbed a disheartening quarterfinal loss in the 74th Strandja Cup in Bulgaria at the hands of her French opponent.
This time, Villegas did not let the ghost of her past haunt her any longer.
“Coach asked me, ‘Are you going to allow her to take this?’ I told him, ‘No, this is mine,’” said Villegas. “This is my comeback. She beat me last year, 3-2. I told myself I need to get the last round.”
The motivated 29-year-old Villegas did not let the French crowd jeer her as she hacked out a 3-2 split decision win over the seventh-seeded Lkhadiri in her home turf after landing eye-catching combinations, and arguably the cleaner and better exchanges.
Villegas faces Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the semifinals on Wednesday, August 7 (Manila time), for a spot in the gold medal match.
