RESPONSIBLE for delivering the country’s two other medals in the Paris Olympics, Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas will be the recipient of a special recognition in the 2024 San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards Night.

The two fearless lady boxers are going to be recognized with the President’s Award by the country’s oldest media organization as it holds its traditional awards presentation on Jan. 27 at the grand ballroom of the Manila Hotel.

Petecio and Villegas accounted for a pair of bronze medals in Paris and added to the two glittering gold medals gymnast Carlos Yulo won in securing the best ever showing for Team Philippines in a century of participation in the quadrennial Games.

Yulo is going to be feted with the highest honor as 2024 Athlete of the Year during the proceedings co-presented by ArenaPlus, Cignal, and MediaQuest.

Petecio emerged bronze winner in the women’s 57kg division, while Villegas secured the same medal in the 50 kg class.

“They may have missed the biggest prize in the 2024 Olympics, but nonetheless deserve high accolades with their own bright moments in the Paris Games, providing extra push in the glorious Philippine performance – a great highlight in the country’s centennial year of participation in the Summer Games,” said PSA President Nelson Beltran, sports editor of The Philippine Star, of the special recognition to be bestowed on the two lady boxers.

For the 32-year-old Petecio, the bronze was the second Olympic medal she won, adding to the silver which she bagged in the 2020 edition of the Games in Tokyo. In doing so, she became the first ever Filipino boxer to clinch back-to-back podium finishes in the quadrennial meet.

For the 29-year-old Villegas, it was a proud moment right in her Olympic debut as an underdog out of the compact five-man Philippine boxing team which competed.

Several other awards will be handed out in the special night made possible by major sponsors Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, PLDT/Smart, Senator Bong Go, and Januarius Holdings and backed by the PBA, 1-Pacman Party List, AcroCity, PVL, Akari, and Rain or Shine.

The honor roll includes Executive of the Year, Major Awardees in other sports, Mr. Basketball both in the professional and amateur ranks, Ms. Volleyball, and the regular Tony Siddayao Awards for athletes aged 17-year-old and under.

Special recognition will also be given out to the Philippine Olympians and Paralympians, while another iconic Filipino athlete is set to be enshrined in the PSA Hall of Fame.

MANILA — Olympic silver medalist Nesthy Petecio secured her place in the quarterfinals of the 1st World Olympic Boxing Qualifiers in Busto Arsizio, Italy, on Friday (Saturday in Manila).

In the Round of 16 of the women’s 57-kilogram (kg) division, Petecio clinched victory over Nancy Canan Tas of Germany with a unanimous decision (5-0).

Petecio is set to face Maud van der Toorn of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, who triumphed over Jenifer Fernande of Spain (5-0).

She must advance to the finals of the tournament to secure her qualification for the Paris Olympics.

In the men’s 57-kg division, Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam emerged victorious against Mexico’s Andrey Bonilla in the Round of 32 with a split decision (3-1).

Paalam took to his Facebook and Instagram stories to express his disappointment in his Mexican opponent’s boxing skills, criticizing Bonilla for lacking proficiency.

He is slated to go against Turkmenistan’s Shukur Ovezov in the Round of 16 on Sunday (Monday in Manila).

In the women’s 50-kg Round of 32, Aira Villegas triumphed over Canada’s McKenzie Wright with a split decision (3-2), keeping her hopes alive for the Paris Olympics.

Villegas will progress to the Round of 16 and will face off against Sofie Rosshaug of Denmark on Sunday.

These three boxers, along with Asian Games silver medalist Rogen Ladon, remain the Philippines’ contenders in the Olympic qualifiers in Italy.

Currently, the Philippines has one qualified boxer for the Paris Olympics—Eumir Felix Marcial, who secured his spot following a silver-medal finish at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, last year.

Ladon, Villegas, and Paalam only need to reach the tournament’s semifinals to secure their places in the Paris Games.

(By El Amigo/MNM)

HANGZHOU – Olympic silver medalist Nesthy Petecio failed to repeat against rival Lin Yu Ting of Chinese Taipei and made an early exit in the 19th Asian Games Friday at the Hangzhou gymnasium.

Lin used her height and reach advantage to keep at bay her Filipina adversary on the way to pulling off a 4-1 decision, and a place in the quarterfinals of the women’s 57-kg class.

Two years ago, Petecio, 31, took the measure out of the 5-foot-9 Chinese Taipei fighter by beating her, 3-2, in the Round of 16 of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where the native of Davao Del Sur won a silver medal.

This time, it wasn’t meant to be.

“Nag-unahan kami kung sino ang makakakuha ng saktong style. At naunahan niya talaga ako,” said Petecio, who was humble in defeat.

The loss denied Petecio her first shot at clinching a return ticket to the Olympics set in Paris next year as the quadrennial showcase serves as a qualifier to the Olympiad.

Now she has to go through and compete in the World Championship in the hopes of making it in the Paris Games and complete what had been an unfinished business for her.

“Hindi pa tayo tapos,” Petecio vowed.

Petecio’s exit also ended the women’s team campaign in the Asiad, leaving the men’s team – now down to just three fighters – to carry the fight in a bid to win Philippine boxing’s first gold medal since the 2010 edition of the quadrennial meet in Guangzhou, China.

Other than Petecio, those who failed to advance include her fellow Olympian Irish Magno, Aira Villegas, Aaron Jude Bado, Mark Ashley Fajardo, and Marjon Pianar.

(ai/mnm)

HANGZHOU – A long-time rival awaits Nesthy Petecio at the other end of the ring Friday when she finally makes her debut in the 19th Asian Games.

The Tokyo Olympic silver medal winner faces top seed Lin Yu Ting of Chinese Taipei in an early clash between the top contenders in the women’s 57 kg class.

The winner in the 3 p.m. match at the Hangzhou gymnasium will book a berth into the quarterfinals.

“Dito na magkaka-alaman,” said national coach Ronald Chavez of the highly-anticipated bout.

Petecio, 32, previously took the measure out of Lin during the Round of 16 of the Tokyo Olympiad, when the Filipina won their tightly-fought match by the skin of her teeth, 3-2, on her way to making the finals, where she eventually lost to gold medalist Sena Irie of Japan.

But the Asiad is an entirely new episode on the rivalry of the two.

Whereas Lin already had a bronze medal tucked under her belt which she won during the 2018 edition of the quadrennial meet in Palembang while still fighting at 51 kg class, the Asiad is the only one lacking in Petecio’s trophy case.

“Lagi lang akong quarterfinals,” she said of the two previous stints she had in 2018 and 2014 (Incheon, South Korea), respectively.

“(Kaya) sobrang challenging ito sa akin.”

Petecio, also a gold medal winner in the 2019 World Championship, will be the last of the nine-man boxing team to see action for the first time heading to the weekend, where the quarterfinals and semifinals are going to be held.

Heavyweight John Marvin was the latest Filipino fighter to advance after scoring a Referee Stopped Contest (RSC) against Rabin of Nepal late Wednesday night. He joins Olympic medalists Carlo Paalam and Eumir Felix Marcial in the next round as they try to give Philippine boxing its first Asiad gold since Rey Saludar (flyweight) in the 2010 edition in Guangzhou, China.

Marjon Pianar is fighting 2023 World Championship gold medalist Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev of Uzbekistan in the Round of 16 of the men’s 71 kg class as of press time for a berth in the quarterfinals.

Somnuek Thananya of Thailand meanwhile, won by walkover against Rizza Pasuit, who was not with the Philippine boxing team here but was listed by Asiad organizers on the meet’s official website. (ai.mnm)