ANTICIPATING taller opponents in the Paris Olympics, featherweight Nesthy Petecio has sparred with lanky younger sibling and fellow national teammate Norlan as part of her training for the games.
“Dahil matatangkad ang magiging kalaban ko sa Paris, kailangan ko makipag-sparring sa matataas, kasama na ‘yung kapatid kong si Norlan,” Petecio said of her 5-foot-8 brother, a welterweight silver medalist in the 2023 Cambodia Southeast Asian Games.
She singled out Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting and Italian Irma Testa, who stand at 5-foot-10.
Lin is the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games women’s featherweight gold medalist and two-time world champion while Testa is the current world featherweight queen and two-time European featherweight gold medalist.
“Pareho silang mataas at malakas kaya dapat silang paghandaang mabuti,” noted the Davao del Sur native, who aims to neutralize the size and length of her foes with the help of coaches Rey Galido and Mitchell Martin.
She faced the two fighters in the last Tokyo Summer Games, narrowly beating Lin 3-2 in the second round and outclassing Testa 4-1 in the semifinals.
Given her silver-medal finish in the Japanese capital three years ago, the perky and lively boxer is expected to gain an opening-round bye in the weight division consisting of 22 entries.
“Pero hindi puwedeng maging kampante dahil lahat ng boksingero sa division ko malalakas,” said Petecio, who absorbed a 1-4 loss to hometown bet Irina Serie in the finals.
The Japanese fighter has since retired.
