LIKE compatriot Eumir Felix Marcial, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio is raring to win the gold in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
This Asiad could be her swan song and last shot at gaining a berth to the Paris Olympics next year.
“This is very, very important to me because I’m thinking that this may be my last shot,” Petecio said. “We’re not getting any younger, we’re getting older.
“We’re also feeling things now. It will depend on what would happen here, so this is important to me,” she added.
Petecio, 31, bagged the gold in the 60kg women’s category of the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia last May.
It was her second gold in the SEA Games after ruling the featherweight class in Manila in 2019.
The Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur native copped the silver in the women’s featherweight class of the 2020 Tokyo Olympiad.
Petecio is dedicating her stint in the quadrennial showpiece event set from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 to her family, country, and to the late ABAP president Ed Picson.
“I’ll be dedicating these Asian Games for my family, as always, that’s number one, for the country and also for myself,” Petecio said.
“Last Tokyo (Olympics), it was all for the family so this time, I’ll dedicate it to me as well.”
Based on the revised qualification process of the International Olympic Committee, only the boxing finalists in each Olympic weight division in the Asiad set Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 will qualify for Paris.
After the quadrennial meet, there will be two more world Olympic qualifying tilts in early 2024 where pugilists can clinch their slots to the 33rd edition of the Olympiad in the French capital.
Qualifying for Paris has taken on greater significance for Olympic boxing bets from all over the world since the IOC scrapped the sport in the 2028 edition in Los Angeles due to scandals that stunned the discipline in previous Olympics.
The world Olympic body has taken over the qualifying process from the International Boxing Association, forming its own group led by Japanese International Gymnastics Federation president Morinari Watanabe, who supervised the qualifiers for the Tokyo Games.
Nearly 400 Pinoy athletes will seek sporting glory in the Asiad in 40 disciplines led by the likes of Hidilyn Diaz, Margielyn Didal, EJ Obiena, Fil-Canadian tanker Kayla Sanchez and Petecio’s fellow boxers Marcial and Carlo Paalam.
