Two more boxers are joining Team Pilipinas in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Featherweight Nesthy Petecio and flyweight Carlo Paalam have punched their ticket to the games after qualifying by virtue of current rankings.
“Let us all come together and focus on the challenges ahead not only of our boxers, but all Filipino athletes. Now, more than ever, they need us to stand firmly behind them,” said Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Ricky Vargas.
The duo joins middleweight Eumir Marcial, flyweight Irish Magno, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, and gymnast Caloy Yulo.
Petecio was the top seed in the 2020 Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament. She suffered an upset after bowing to Japan’s Sena Irie last year.
On the other hand, Paalam lost Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov in the flyweight box-off.
The OQTs have been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, however.
