A RETURN trip to the Olympics for Nesthy Petecio and a maiden appearance for Aira Villegas.
Showing poise under tremendous pressure, Petecio and Villegas punched their way to the Paris Olympic Games last Monday night with gritty wins over their foes at the close of the 1st World Olympic Boxing Qualification in Busto Arsizio, Italy.
Seizing the moment that might never come again, Petecio completed her Olympic comeback bid with a riveting 4-1 win over Turkish Esra Yildiz in their women’s featherweight semifinal clash where two Olympic berths were at stake at the E-Work Arena.
The 31-year-old pride of Davao del Sur drew from her vast experience to win the nod of four judges, who gave her scores of 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, while the fifth saw it 28-29 in Yildiz’s favor.
Long overshadowed by her illustrious compatriots, Villegas finally came into her own and likewise took the opportunity to shine, scoring a 5-0 unanimous decision win over Bulgaria’s Zlatislava Chukanova in the women’s lightweight quarterfinals.
The fight was actually closer than it looked as the native of Tacloban, Leyte dominated the first two rounds but was slapped a one-point deduction by the referee for holding on to Chukanova.
Villegas got knocked down in the third round but quickly rose to finish the match strong.
With four quota places in the weight category up for grabs, Villegas cemented her spot and will be aiming for Olympic glory when the Paris Summer Games unfold in July.
Petecio and Villegas became the country’s latest Paris qualifiers, joining the distinguished ranks of pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena, fellow boxer Eumir Felix Marcial, and gymnasts Carlo Edriel Yulo and Aleah Finnegan.
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino congratulated Petecio and Villegas for qualifying for the Paris Olympics and encouraged other Filipino athletes to continue their Olympic dream.
“My heartfelt congratulations to Nesthy and Aira, they deserve to be in Paris,” said Tolentino, who was at the stands cheering the Filipino boxers hoarse.
“And to our athletes who have yet to qualify, and those who missed Paris here, never say never!” he said. “You still have all the chances to make it to the Olympics.”
Tolentino’s charm with lady luck further reverberated as the world celebrates Women’s Month.
“It’s good timing because we are celebrating Women’s Month in March … imagine two women made it to the Olympics,” he said. “I’m really proud of Nesthy and Aira.”
It was a gratifying stint for Petecio, who lost the gold to hometown bet Irina Serie in the Japanese capital three years ago, needing five matches to become the first Pinay boxer to make it to back-to-back Olympics.
She and Villegas made the cut among the 10 national boxers who saw action in the qualifying competition that drew a banner field of 602 entries from 103 countries.
As they gird for the Olympics, teammates Carlo Paalam, Rogen Ladon, Claudine Veloso, Mark Ashley Fajardo, John Marvin, Ronald Chavez Jr., Hergie Bacyadan, and Riza Pasuit will have another stab at joining them in the second and last Olympic boxing qualifiers set from May 23 to June 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.
