IN BIG ROMP Petecio rules the world, too

From Germany to Russia, the Filipino athletes pulled off one shock victory on the world stage after the other with Nesthy Petecio capping the big Saturday romp by bagging the gold in the World Women’s Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude.

Hours after Carlos Yulo made history by delivering the Philippines’ first-ever gold medal in the 49th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, Petecio bucked overwhelming odds, including hometown bet Liudmila Vorontsova and a hostile crowd, with a gritty performance to snare the gold in the featherweight class.

Everything Petecio did right in pulling the rug from under a taller Kariss Artingstall of England, 4-1, in their semifinal bout Friday, she did again against Vorontsova, flicking solid punches and coming away with combinations that forever hounded the local ace.

The Davao City native came out of the fight gaining the nods of three of the five judges with two scoring 30-27 and another putting it 29-28 for the new Filipina champ, who wept after being declared the winner.

Curiously, the Japanese judge scored it 30-27 for Vorontsova, who also gained a 29-28 scoreline from the other judge from Argentina though it was clear that the 27-year-old Petecio had thrown and connected with the most telling blows during the entire bout.

Vorontsova, who scored a controversial victory over top seed and Asian Games bronze medalist Lin Yu Ting of Chinese Taipei in a semis match many thought the Taiwanese had dominated, later placed the outcome under protest.

But Petecio made sure she’d impose her will against the Russian, whom she dominated with her determination and power plus style that also netted her silver medal feats in the Asian Boxing Championships in China and in the Worlds in Korea, both in 2015.

ABAP president Ricky Vargas was enthusiastically elated with the result saying “Nesthy deserved the win. Not only because she fought brilliantly but also because she sacrificed so much for this. I’m shedding tears of joy for her. Mabuhay ka, Nesthy!”

He also gave credit to coaches Boy Velasco and Reynaldo Galido for their mentorship. “Actually, the entire ABAP coaching staff headed by head coach Pat Gaspi deserves the credit, including our foreign consultant Don Abnett. They did a great job,” Vargas added.