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| Nesthy Petecio is now a two-time Olympic medalist. Reuters (file photo) |
MANILA--Nesthy Petecio gave the Philippines its third assured medal in the Paris Olympics after dominating Chinese opponent Xu Zichun in the quarterfinals of the women's 57-kilogram boxing event on Sunday at the Paris North Arena in Villepinte, France.
Petecio put on a virtual clinic in the match, showing her punching accuracy and another brilliant head movement to frustrate Xu, who despite showing aggression struggled to connect on her shots.
Three judges, Holger Kussmaul, Yermek Suiyenish, and Wade Peterson, scored the bout 30-27, while Jakov Peterson and Cho Jung-Sook had it 29-28 all for Petecio, who became the first Filipino athlete to have multiple Olympic medals for boxing.
All the judges already had Petecio winning after Round 2 with only Jakov and Cho believing Xu took charge a bit in Round 3.
The 2021 silver medalist can turn what is now an assured bronze into an assured silver if she beats Poland's Julia Szeremeta, who also scored a unanimous decision win against Puerto Rico's Ashleyann Lozada later in the day, in the semifinals at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris early Thursday (Philippine Time).
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