SEAG: Nesthy Petecio’s quest for gold halted by controversial loss

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Nesthy Petecio’s Southeast Asian Games gold medal bid has now come to an end.

In what was tagged as one of the most head-scratching daylight robberies in the ongoing 33rd SEA Games, Petecio lost against Indonesia’s Hasanah Huswatun and had to settle for a bronze medal in the women’s lightweight 63kg division.

After throwing the more efficient and power-loaded punches, everyone thought that the former Olympic silver medalist would score a walk-in-the-park victory, but the ringside judges saw an entirely different scenario as Huswatun bagged a surprising 3–2 split decision win on Dec. 13, 2025, at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Center in Bangkok, Thailand.

Despite fighting in a different weight class when she jumped to the 63kg division, Petecio still flashed her usual speed and deadly lead left punches that dictated the tempo from the get-go.

It was all Petecio from the moment the official fight bell rang, as the more experienced pug negated the Indonesian’s aggressiveness with her more calculated punches.

Known for anticipating her opponents’ tendencies in the first minute of the fight, Petecio finally picked Huswatun apart with three precise left hooks in the opening round, followed by short jabs that looked to be enough for a 1–0 lead in favor of the Filipina.

Although Huswatun was always throwing punches, the majority of her energy was spent going to waste, as Petecio was able to block those offensive threats with her side-to-side movement and footwork.

The next two rounds didn’t stray from what transpired in the first frame, as Huswatun threw a lot of missed punches, while Petecio, on the other hand, caught her with several staggering hooks.

Every Filipino present in the venue was in disbelief after the match announcer revealed the official score, as three of the five ringside judges scored the bout in favor of Huswatun.

“Lagi kong nirerespeto ang decision ng judges. Pero kita naman sa laro. Kahit ako, alam ko lamang ako don,” said the frustrated Petecio after the loss.

It took Petecio several hours to process the stunning event, taking to social media her thoughts after sharing a video clip of the fight with the caption: “Nung nalaman mo na nadaya ka. Tatawa ka nalang eh.”