Olympic boxers’ Petecio, Paalam score wins in international tournament

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Tokyo Olympics-bound PH boxers Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam represented the country well after earning huge wins during the Thailand goodwill boxing tournament.

Petecio showed no signs of rust after asserting her mastery over Thai opponent Porntip Buapa in the 60-kg weight limit.

Meanwhile, Paalam also had a terrific performance and dominated his opponent Wuttichai Yurachai in the men’s 52-kg weight class division.

This is the first international tournament exposure for the PH sluggers after their intensive training camp amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the wins by Petecio and Paalam, several PH boxers came out short and lost in the first round of the tournament.

The likes of Irish Magno, Risa Pasuit, Aira Villegas, and Junmilardo Ogayre all lost against their seasoned Olympic veteran foes and vowed to train harder for the prestigious sports meet.

Petecio and Paalam will have the chance to continue their winning ways as the goodwill competition will resume on April 10.