Nesthy Petecio entered the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 women’s boxing featherweight tournament as a top-two favorite, especially given the unexpected eliminations of several top seeds early in the competition.
Australia’s Tina Rahimi, Tunisia’s Khouloud Hlimi, Colombia’s Valeria Arboleda, and Kazakhstan’s Karina Ibragimova were all ousted as early as the round of 16. Meanwhile, Petecio delivered a commanding performance, completely outclassing third seed Amina Zidani in the quarterfinals, setting the stage for a potential rematch against Chinese-Taipei’s Lin Yuting.
However, on Wednesday morning (Manila time) at the Stade Roland Garros, disaster struck the 2020 Tokyo Games silver medalist. Against 20-year-old upstart Julia Szeremeta, Petecio found herself on the wrong side of the scorecards, losing 1-4.
The heartbroken 32-year-old native of Davao del Sur accepted the decision with class, but deep down, she believed she had won.
“Sobrang labo, sobrang labo talaga pero ‘yun nakikita nila. So wala tayong magagawa. Pero grabe! Wala siyang clear punch sa third round,” rued Petecio to One Sports’ Carlo Pamintuan.
“Yung mga body shots, yung mga hook ko pumapasok eh. Ewan ko, hindi ko alam anong nangyari.”
After dominating the opening chapter of the three-round affair, Szeremeta managed to recover, forcing a decisive third round.
Petecio visibly landed her shots but struggled against the length of the lankier Polish pugilist.
“Lagi akong naca-caution ng referee, hindi ko alam kung bakit pero siguro hindi ko alam kung ano ‘yung nakikita kong side nila so sila na ‘yun eh, nirerespeto ko ‘yun,” she rued.
Despite the disappointing defeat, Petecio still holds her head high.
In what could be her last stand for Team Philippines, she secured a bronze medal.
“Sobrang proud po ako na hanggang ngayon lumalaban ako para sa bayan, sa pamilya, sa pangarap, and sa pangarap ko na ginto,” she expressed.
“Akala ko akin na ito this time. Pero sobrang grabe yung tiwala ko sa sarili ko na makukuha ko siya pero medyo hindi tayo pinalad ngayong gabi sa panalo.”
