MANILA: A second Filipino boxer is through to the Round of 16 after Nesthy Petecio scored a unanimous decision win in the women’s 57-kilogram class over Jaismine Lamboria of India in the Paris Olympics past midnight Wednesday (PH time).
Three judges scored it 30-27 and the other two 29-28, all for the 32-year-old Petecio, silver medalist in 2021 Tokyo.
She will take on first-time Olympian Amina Zidani of France on Aug. 3.
‘Your dedication, hard work and skill continue to inspire us all. Let’s keep the support and cheers going!’ the Philippine Olympic Committee posted on Facebook to celebrate the opening-round win.
At 3:04 a.m., Eumir Marcial climbs the ring at North Paris Arena against Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev in the men’s 80kg.
Hergie Bacyadan (women’s 75kg) and 2021 Tokyo silver medalist Carlo Paalam (men’s 57kg) complete the Filipinos’ preliminaries at 6:04 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., respectively.
The Philippine spotlight will then shine brightest on Carlo Yulo when he competes in the men’s artisti
c gymnastics all-around at 11:30 p.m. at Bercy Arena.
He also qualified for the floor exercise and vault medal rounds.
Aira Villegas kicked off the five-member boxing team’s bid with a similar unanimous decision win over Morocco’s Yasmine Mouttaki in the women’s 50kg early Monday (PH time). She take on Algeria’s Roumaysa Boualam on Aug. 2 at 2:16 a.m. (PH time).
Also at 3:33 a.m. Wednesday, Kayla Sanchez continues her medal quest in the women’s 100m freestyle semifinals.
As of Tuesday night, Japan paces the medal standings with a 7-2-4 gold-silver-bronze tally, followed by China (6-6-2), France (5-8-4), Australia (5-4-0), South Korea (5-3-3), United States (3-8-9) and Great Britain (3-5-3).
Italy, Hong Kong, Canada and Germany have two gold medals apiece; while Kazakhstan, South Africa, Belgium and Azerbaijan have one each.
Source: Philippines News Agency