Nesthy Petecio wins first-ever silver medal in PH’s Olympic women’s boxing

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Win or lose, Filipina boxer Nesthy Petecio is still a champion to every Filipinos.

After a hard-fought finals clash against hometown bet Sena Irie of Japan, Petecio fell short of a historic gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics’ women’s featherweight division and settled for the silver instead.

It was a war of strategies and adjustments as both fighters came in with their designated game plans which they switched in the middle of the bout.

Petecio opened the round with the much-expected aggressiveness but the Japanese connected the cleaner jabs, forcing the Filipina’s camp to replicate what they did against Irma Testa.

As the second round began, the Filipina slugger put on the pressure and just stormed through Irie’s defense.

Petecio moved in quick at every opportunity and became the busier fighter to lock in the second round of the fight.

In the most crucial round for the gold medal match, things began to slow down as the Japanese pug played clinch every time Petecio threw her combinations.

The last round was more of a grappling match as the punches thrown decreased due to the time spent of both fighters hugging each other in the middle of the ring.

After three rounds of action, all five of the judges gave their nod to the Japanese for a unanimous gold medal victory.

Despite the loss, Petecio’s Tokyo finish is the best-recorded medal ever in Philippine Olympic women’s boxing history so far.