Nesthy punches semifinal ticket
Drawing inspiration from Hidilyn Diaz’s historic gold medal feat in weightlifting and sustaining the momentum of her shock win over a top seeded rival, Nesthy Petecio crushed Yeni Arias Castañeda via unanimous decision to barge into the semifinal round of women’s boxing in the Olympic Games.
The one-sided, 5-0 triumph at the Kokugika Arena not only assured the Philippines of at least a bronze medal in the featherweight division, but also guaranteed the country will bring more than one medal for the first time since winning three bronzes in the 1932 Games in Los Angeles.
Taking on a rival noted for her attacking style, Petecio, 29, bided time, stepping back on each Arias’ charge while countering with left straights and hooks that often found their target on her way to gaining the nods of all judges, 10-9, in the first round.
The Colombian pressed her bid in the second and Petecio obliged, engaging Arias in a toe-totoe battle but the Filipina still came out of the round on top, albeit barely, 3-2, that however proved enough to bolster her confidence heading to the last round which she again took, 4-1.
I am so happy for this moment. This is my first Olympics and I have won my first medal.
Petecio spiked her masterful win with superb timing, unleashing left straights she complemented with right upper cuts and crisp hooks to the head.
The Davao del Sur find, who stunned Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan, 3-2, in the Round of 16, also eluded Castañeda’s counterattacks with swift head movements and excellent footwork, staying out of the pocket after landing combinations to the consternation of her rival, who also pounded a 3-2 reversal over Bulgaria’s Nikolaeva Petrova in the previous round.
“I am so happy for this moment. This is my first Olympics and I have won my first medal. I don’t really know how to feel right now,” said Petecio, who needs only two wins to grab an Olympic gold.
The victory thus lined Petecio up against Irma Testa for a crack at the gold on Saturday. The Italian also fashioned out a 5-0 demolition of Canada’s Caroline Veyre in their side of the quarterfinal clash.
Meanwhile, Eumir Marcial launches her much awaited campaign against Algeria’s Younes Nemouchi in men’s middleweight preliminaries today with Irish Magno, who eased past Kenyan Christine Ongare, 5-0, in the first round, likewise resuming her drive against a fancied Thai rival, Jutamas Jitpong, in women’s flyweight.
Carlo Paalam is also set to see action again on Saturday, facing off with Algerian Mohamed
Flissi after dispatching
Ireland’s Brendan Irvine in the first round of the men’s flyweight class.