Petecio, Last Phl Fighter standing sa World C'Ships

ni Gerard Arce - @Sports | March 21, 2023

Nanatiling nag-iisang lumalabang Filipino boxer si 2020+1 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio matapos umusad sa round-of-16 ng women’s under-57kgs featherweight nang dominahin si Tianna Guy ng Trinidad and Tobago sa round-of-32 preliminaries sa IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships sa K.D. Jadhav Indoor Hall sa New Delhi, India.

Tanging ang 30-anyos na dating 2019 World champion ang tumatayong Pinoy boxer sa kompetisyon matapos malaglag sa kanilang mga asignatura sina Southeast Asian Games medalist Aira Villegas at Riza Pasuit sa women’s light-flyweight at women’s light-welterweight dibisyon.

Nanaig ang 2019 SEAG gold medalist sa bisa ng 5-0 iskor kontra Guy at nakatakdang harapin sa susunod na round si Omailyn Alcala ng Venezuela na dinomina rin si Chandra Kala Thapa ng Nepal via 5-0. “The main objective here is to keep them in competition atmosphere and the medals will just be bonus. We just sent the 3 boxers who will most likely compete in the SEA Games.

Riza Pasuit actually just got out of military training before they left but we needed her to participate because she will compete in the SEA Games,” pahayag ni Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) secretary-general Marcus Jarwin Manalo.

Susubukang makabawi ng 2019 SEAG gold medalist na tubong-Davao del Sur sa maagang eliminasyon sa nagdaang 74th Strandja International Boxing Tournament sa Sofia, Bulgaria noong nagdaang buwan.

Sakaling magwagi si Petecio sa beteranong Venezuelan boxer ay makakaharap nito ang mananaig kina Mahsati Hamzayeva ng Azerbaijan at Karina Ibragimova ng Kazakhstan, na minsan ng tumalo kay Petecio sa 2022 Asian Confederation Boxing Championships semifinals noong Nobyembre, 2022.

Hindi naman nakaligtas si Manila meet bronze medalist Villegas sa bangis ng kamao ni Genadieva Chukanova Zlatislava ng Bulgaria sa 0-5 iskor.