HISTORY CONTINUES to be made for the Philippines as Nesthy Petecio secured the country another Olympic medal.
2019 World Champion Petecio is now assured of at least a bronze medal after outclassing Colombian Yeni Arias Castaneda via unanimous decision, 5-0 (30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27), in the quarterfinals of the women’s featherweight division in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held at the Kokugikan Arena on Wednesday, July 28.
After a defeat to Arias Castaneda in the 2018 World Championships in India, Petecio made sure to take her shot at redemption and secure the victory in their latest encounter.
Petecio—who was coming off a historic upset against top-seeded Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei in the Round of 16—patiently landed multiple counter punches throughout her bout against Arias Castaneda.
Together with her swift head movement, Petecio landed a solid left jab to end the second round. The Davao native continued her counter-attacking tactic and connected with a right uppercut after dodging a combination from her aggressive Colombian foe in the third and final round.
The 29 year-old Petecio looks to punch her ticket to the finals against Italian Irma Testa in their semifinals bout on July 31 at 12:39 PM Manila time in the Kokugikan Arena. Petecio’s win marks the first time that the Philippines will have multiple medals in an Olympics since 1932. This is after Hidylin Diaz secured the country’s first gold medal last July 26. Petecio also became Philippine boxing’s first Olympic medalist since Onyok Velasco, who won a silver medal in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
