THE Philippines has officially four medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics after Davao City-born Nesthy Petecio after securing a bronze following a semifinal finish in the women’s 57 kilogram (kg) division.
Petecio's journey for an Olympic boxing gold at the Paris Games ended after a split decision loss to Poland’s Julia Szeremeta on Wednesday, August 7 (Thursday, August 8, Manila time).
Szeremata stepped up in the final two rounds to swing the judges to her favor after her showboating did not work in Round 1, which all five judges gave to Petecio.
Four judges scored the match 29-28 for the 20-year-old Polish and one for Petecio, also 29-28.
Szeremata did not just assure herself of at least a silver medal but also denied a rematch between Petecio and controversial Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting.
Had Petecio won, she would have gotten a chance to get back at Lin after losing to her right at the start of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year.
Instead, Petecio will settle for the bronze, just like Aira Villegas in women's 50kg.
Petecio respects judges' decision
In a Facebook live, Petecio thanked everyone who supported her journey towards the Olympics.
She also said that she respected the judges' decision after falling against Szeremeta.
"Gutom po ata yung mga judge, kaya nag luto po sila," Nesthy said in jest.
"Nirerespeto ko naman kung ano yung nakita nila sa laban, siguro may mga other sides silang nag ba-base sa scoring di po sa suntok, baka yung pagiging agreesiveness or yung hype or mga ganun," Nesthy added.
Petecio now a two-time gold medalist
Petecio is now also a two-time Olympic medalist, joining a prestigious list of athletes from the Philippines to have won more than one medal in the Olympic Games.
Over the weekend, Carlos Yulo also joined the list following his historic two-gold feat in the men’s gymnastics competition in Paris.
Other athletes who joined the roster are Teofilo Yldefonso and Hidilyn Diaz
Yldefonso is the country's first Olympic medalist as he claimed bronze in the 200m breaststroke event in the 1928 Summer Games in Netherlands. He then notched another bronze in the next edition of the Olympics in Los Angeles.
Diaz, meanwhile, broke the Philippines’ Olympic medal drought when she claimed the silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Prior to this, the Philippines last claimed an Olympic medal in 1996 from Mansueto ‘Onyok’ Velasco. RGL with reports from PNA