FOCUS, focus, focus.
That was the only thing on the mind of Aira Villegas, who overcame the partisan hometown crowd and French rival Wassila Lkhadiri to pull off a thrilling 3-2 win in the women’s lightweight quarterfinals on the way to a bronze medal in the last Paris Olympic Games.
“Wala na akong inintindi na iba maliban sa kalaban ko. Wala sa crowd, wala sa ingay, sa kalaban lang ako naka-focus at wala ng iba,” Villegas disclosed yesterday in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Philippine Sports Commission conference room in Manila.
Behind on points entering the third and final round, the pride of Tacloban, Leyte gave her all to rally and earn a split decision win before a stunned French gallery at the Roland Garros Stadium to advance to the semis and assure herself of a bronze in her remarkable Olympic debut.
Villegas, who celebrated her 29th birthday last Aug. 1 with a second-round unanimous decision win over Algeria’s Roumaysa Boualam, lost 0-5 in the semifinals to Turkey’s Buse Naz, a Tokyo Olympic silver medalist.
On the eve of the fight for a semifinals berth and a sure bronze, coach Reynaldo Galido personally talked to Villegas about how winning the bout would change her life forever.
“Sabi ko sa kanya, itong laban natin mabigat ito, hometown bet ang kalaban natin. Pero sabi ko huwag mong isipin ‘yan, huwag mong isipin ‘yung crowd. Kasi itong laban na ito ang makakapag-pabago sa buhay mo. Isipin mo ‘yung mga magulang mo, mga kapatid mo,” recalled Galido of his conversation with his fighter.
During the fight, Galido said: “Ang sabi ko kay Nesthy focus lang bago ang last round. Ito na ang pagkakataon mo.
Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines secretary general Marcus Manalo said what made Villegas’ outing even more astounding was that she suffered from a host of injuries and had to lay off boxing close to the Paris Olympic boxing meet.
“We did not announce it but Aira was bothered by injuries and did not box for a month so we could treat her aches and pains properly. The only time that she boxed was in our training camp in Saarbrucken, Germany,” Manalo said.
“Ang dami (injuries), may shoulder tendinopathy, mild ACL sprain, compartment syndrome sa left foot,” Manalo said of the health condition of Villegas.
He said the triumph of Villegas, who joined the ABAP national boxing pool when she was 16, was a testament to the fighter’s perseverance, character and the will to fight on.
“She has not won a gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games but now is a bronze medalist in the Olympics. That is Aira for you,” said Manalo of the boxer’s rise to prominence.
Having tasted her first Olympics, Villegas acknowledged that she was hungry for more, saying: “Parang hindi pa kumpleto ang goal ko kasi hindi pa nakaka-ginto.”
