PARIS (Via PLDT Home)— Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Marcial try to continue their unfinished business in Tokyo as they open their campaigns on Tuesday in the Paris Olympics boxing competitions at the North Paris Arena here.
The 32-year-old Petecio, who settled for the silver medal three years ago in the Japanese capital, is on a mission to finally strike gold this time.
Her journey begins against Indian boxer Jaismine Lamboria in the 57-kg Round of 32 at 5:54 p.m. (11:54 p.m. Philippine time).
Jaismine is a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist from a family of boxers. She had competed in the 60kg category in the initial World Qualifiers and was allowed to participate in the 57kg event as a reserve in the Bangkok qualifiers, where she reclaimed the 57kg quota India was forced to surrender following fellow boxer Parveen Hooda’s 22-month suspension for a whereabouts failure.
Parveen had initially secured the 57kg quota after winning the bronze medal at the 2023 Asian Games, but had to relinquish her spot at the Summer Games.
Jaismine was no slouch in Bangkok as she made it into the quarterfinals with 5-0 wins over Azerbaijan’s Mahsati Hamzayeva Aghamaliyeva and Switzerland’s Ana Milisic in the first two rounds, respectively.
“Walang hinto, hangga’t walang ginto,” said Petecio, repeating the battle-cry she started after bagging the silver medal in Tokyo.
Marcial, the bronze medalist in the Olympiad three years ago, needs just four wins to win the gold here.
But his path to glory is as treacherous as they come.
After drawing a bye in the Round of 32, Marcial’s first opponent at 9:04 p.m. in Paris (July 31, 3:04 a.m. Philippine time) is Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev, a bronze medalist at the last Asian Games.
“Abangan na lang nila,” said Marcial when asked what kind of preparation he has done for the Olympics when spotted by Filipino sportswriters after Aira Villegas’ 5-0 triumph early Monday morning against Morocco’s Yasmine Mouttaki.
Should he prevail, a potential quarterfinal clash with reigning Olympic champion Arlen Lopez of Cuba looms large. The Cuban, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, turned professional after his Tokyo triumph but has maintained his competitive edge.
Beyond Lopez, the road to gold is littered with formidable opponents.
Top seed Tuohetaerbieke Tanglatihan of China, who defeated Marcial at the Asian Games, and the hard-hitting Ukrainian Oleksandr Khyzhniak, who narrowly edged out the Filipino in Tokyo, pose significant threats.
