FORMER Davao City standout Aiba Women’s World Boxing Championships gold medalist Nesthy Alcayde Petecio is taking a 6 a.m. flight bound for Davao City today to spend time with her family in Barangay Tuban, Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur.
Petecio, who began her amateur boxing career in Davao City, said she’s excited for the short vacation here.
“Sunduon ko ni Mama og sa akong manghod sa airport (My mother and younger sibling will fetch me),” she told SunStar Friday via Facebook.
Instead of staying at a hotel in Davao City where she is set to pay a courtesy visit to Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and to city council members next week, the 27-year-old world champion prefers staying at their Tuban home with her parents Teodoro and Prescilla and her siblings.
She said, “Usahay lang man gud nako sila makauban (I rarely spend time with them).”
National women’s boxing team coach Nolito “Boy” Velasco said Petecio may be on a one-week vacation but she is not off the hook in her training.
“Pagdating nya dyan, tuloy na ang training nya habang nag-aantay ng call kay Mayor Inday Sara,” he said in a separate chat Saturday, adding that Petecio will work on her endurance and upper body improvement on her own.
Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap) executive director Ed Picson, said Petecio and the rest of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games-bound national boxing team will train in Australia before the November 30 to December 11 meet, which the country is hosting.
He said the training schedule in Australia has yet to be determined. “Depende kung kanus-a ma-approve ilahang mga visa. Target namo is October 27 to November 16 (It depends on when their visas will be approved. We, however, target the training on October 27 to November 16).”
Petecio recently clinched the Aiba Women’s World Boxing Championships 2019 gold after eking out a 3-2 split decision victory over Liudmila Vorontsove of Russia in their women’s 57-kilogram finals of the biennial event held in Ulan-Ude, Russia.
She has since received a total of P3 million cash incentives, P1 million each from President Rodrigo Duterte, Philippine Sports Commission and MVP Sports Foundation of Manny V. Pangilinan. (MLSA)