BOXER Nesthy Petecio began Team Philippines’ odyssey in the fifth day of the Paris Olympics with an emphatic victory over a taller Indian foe late Wednesday.
Those who stayed awake were treated to a marvelous display of foot speed, punching power, and unbreakable defense by Petecio, who scored a runaway 5-0 unanimous decision over Jaismine Lamboria in the women’s featherweight division at the North Paris Arena.
But the fight that followed involving another Pinoy hopeful — Tokyo Olympics bronze medal winner Eumir Felix Marcial — crushed everyone.
Marcial was sent packing by Uzbekistan’s Olympic newcomer Turabek Khabilbullaev via unanimous decision.
Over at the Paris La Defense Arena, swimmer Kayla Sanchez, formerly of Canada, wound up seventh in her heat and 15th overall in the semifinals of the 100-meter freestyle.
Despite falling short in her golden drive, Sanchez joined an elite group of Pinoy tankers who made it to the semis since the great Teofilo Yldefonso captured the country’s first medal–a bronze, in the 200m breaststroke of the 1928 Games.
The 5-foot-5 Sanchez shattered her own national record after clocking 53.67 seconds to finish tied at No. 10 among 29 swimmers in the heats last Tuesday night.
Her time of 54.21 in the semifinals was more than a second behind Gretchen Walsh of the United States, who clinched the eighth and last finals slot.
Former two-time world champion Carlos Yulo swung back to action at press time last night with his sights trained on winning the country’s breakthrough gold in gymnastics.
The 4-foot-11 dynamo competed in the men’s individual all-around finals at the Bercy Arena, with hopes of a medal triumph on everybody’s mind.
Later last night, boxing suffered another misfortune as Hergie Bacyadan absorbed a unanimous decision loss to top-seed Chinese Li Qian.
The Olympic rookie savored her experience despite her defeat.
“I’m happy for this experience… that I was able to compete in the Olympics,” Bacyadan, 29, said. “She’s very experienced. I have the courage and I tried, but I lack the exposure.
