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| Nesthy Petecio is now one win away from her second Olympic medal. Reuters |
MANILA--Nesthy Petecio flashed her brilliance in the last two rounds to stun French opponent Amina Zidani in the Paris Olympics women's 57-kilogram round of 16 clash early Saturday (Philippine Time) at the North Paris Arena in Villepinte, France.
Petecio engaged in a virtual brawl with Zidani in the first round with both pugs connecting on significant shots.
Despite the round being close to call, three referees handed the first frame to Zidani, seeded third in the competition.
However, Petecio stepped on the gas in Round 2, dominating the round even as many thought she scored a knockdown against Zidani, which referee Moushine Soulimi ruled as a slip.
Petecio then started Round 3 strong, which turned out to be enough to give her the majority vote to seal her win against the home country favorite.
Only Antonin Gaspar gave the bout to Zidani, 29-28, but Alisher Palvanov, Sergei Krutasov, Cho Jung-Sook, and Manuel Vilarino all scored the clash in favor of Petecio.
Palvanov had Petecio winning all three rounds, while the other judges scored it 29-28 for the 32-year-old pugilist.
Petecio has a chance to lock in an assured medal on Sunday when she takes on China's Xu Zichun in the quarterfinals.
Xu prevailed in a tight contest against the number six seed Valeria Arboleda of Colombia via a 3-2 split decision.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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