BOXER Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines eyes an Olympic final return as she battles Julia Szeremeta of Poland in the women’s 57kg class semifinals at the North Paris Arena early Thursday (Manila time).
Petecio faces Szeremeta at 3:46 a.m. hoping to at least match her silver medal finish in Tokyo three years ago.
The 32-year-old Petecio, who became the first Philippine female boxer to win a medal at the Olympics, has made it clear that she’s not going to stop until she claims a gold medal.
Philippines’ Nesthy Petecio (right) battles China’s Xu Zichun in the women’s 57kg quarterfinal boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena in Villepinte on Aug. 4, 2024. AFP PHOTO
“Walang hinto, hangga’t walang ginto. Dalawang panalo na lang. So hopefully makuha na natin (I’m not going to stop until I get the gold. I’m only two wins away so I hope I can get it,” said Petecio in an interview with One Sports.
The 5-foot-2 Petecio is coming off a unanimous decision win (5-0) over Chinese Xu Zichun in the quarterfinals on Saturday night, advancing to the semis and assuring her of a bronze medal.
Petecio began her gold medal bid with a unanimous decision win over Indian Jasmine Lamboria in the round of 32 and a majority decision win (4-1) in the round of 16 against home bet Amina Zidani.
Standing in her way is the 20-year-old Szeremeta, who has made a good account of herself in her Olympic debut.
The 5-foot-5 pugilist started her quest with a majority decision triumph over Venezuelan Omailyn Alcala Segovia in the round of 32 and a unanimous victory against Aussie Tina Rahimi in the round of 16.
Szeremeta then defeated Puerto Rican Asheleyaan Lozada Motta in the quarters via unanimous decision, as she secured Poland’s first boxing Olympic medal since 1992.
Another Filipino boxer Aira Villegas also secured a bronze medal as a semifinalist in the women’s 50kg division.
Villegas was facing Turkish Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the semifinal round early Wednesday, August 7.
Weightlifters begin their quest
Meanwhile, John Ceniza kickstarts the Philippine weightlifting team’s campaign as he competes in the men’s 61kg class at the South Paris Arena on Wednesday, August 7 (Manila time).
The 26-year-old Ceniza is the first to compete for the Philippine weightlifting team trio completed by Elreen Ando in the women’s 59kg and Vanessa Sarno in the women’s 71kg class.Ceniza, who finished fifth in Olympic Qualification Rankings of his division, makes his Olympic debut at 9 p.m. here in Manila.
A Tokyo Olympian, Ando follows suit on Thursday at 9 p.m. while the first-time Olympian Sarno sees action on Saturday, August 10 at 1:30 a.m.
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