Nesthy Petecio poses with Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz at the Olympic village in Tokyo, Japan. | Nesthy Petecio’s Facebook page photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—After Hidilyn Diaz won for the Philippines its first Olympic gold medal, the stakes got higher for the remaining Filipino athletes vying in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
One of the remaining contenders is boxing’s Nesthy Petecio.
Petecio barged into the quarterfinals after easily defeating top-seed and world no. 1 Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei via split decision.
Prior to that win, Petecio pulled off a dominant 5-0 mauling of Congo’s Marcelat Sakobi Matshu in her first bout.
On Wednesday, July 28, 2021, Petecio will face Colombia’s Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda in the quarterfinals of the 54-57kg boxing competitions at the Kokugikan Arena.
Petecio, the featherweight champion of the 2019 World Boxing Championships, aims for the bronze medal in this match that starts at 10 AM (Manila time).
“I want to win the gold medal for my country, but I know that I will have to work hard for it,” said Petecio in Filipino after her win over Lin.
According to Petecio’s coach, Don Abnett of Australia, they will watch fight videos of Castaneda to figure out the latter’s style and formulate their own game plan.
“We know her next opponent will be tough, but we’re very confident,” said Abnett.