STA. CRUZ, Davao del Sur — Nesthy Petecio did not come home to celebrate. She came home to breathe.
After a bruising Southeast Asian Games campaign and months of pushing her body through pain she rarely spoke about, the two-time Olympic boxing medalist returned to her parents’ house in Barangay Tuban seeking something no medal could give her — rest, clarity, and healing.
“Bakasyon gyud gamay (It’s really just a short vacation),” Petecio said in an interview with SunStar Davao at home on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. “Muuli gyud ko para mag-recharge. Sila gyud akong kusog. Makahatag gyud og bag-ong inspirasyon (I always come back to recharge. They are my strength. They give me fresh inspiration).”
Petecio’s SEA Games run ended with a bronze medal in the women’s 63-kilogram class after a razor-close semifinal loss to Indonesia’s Hasanah Huswatun in Bangkok last December. The split decision went 3–2 against the Filipino boxer, marking her return to competition after more than a year away and her first bout since the Paris Olympics — fought this time in an unfamiliar, heavier division.
The loss stung, but Petecio refused to let it define her.
“Dili kaayo bug-at sa akoa (It didn’t weigh too heavily on me),” she said. “Always ko mag-think positive. Naay rason ang tanan (I always try to think positively. There’s a reason for everything).”
She admitted she entered the SEA Games underprepared. Petecio, 33, trained for just one month, focusing mainly on cutting weight. Instead of her natural weight class of 57 kg, she competed at 63 kg, a significant weight gap at the elite level.
Criticism followed, as it often does. Petecio said she saw the negative comments but chose not to dwell on them.
“Dili man nato ma-please tanan (You can’t please everyone),” she said. “Respeto ko sa ilang opinion, respeto sad ko sa desisyon sa judges (I respect their opinions, and I also respect the judges’ decision).”
What fans did not see, she said, was the pain she carried into the ring.
A week before the SEA Games, a lingering eye injury flared up during training in Muak Lek, Thailand. Petecio described waking up with sharp pain, “murag naay buak nga glass (shards of glass)” inside her eyes. She trained through it, stopped briefly, then pushed on again — as she had done before.
The injury had haunted her since before the Paris Olympics. Each time surgery came up, she backed out and asked the doctors how long it would keep her sidelined. The answer always scared her.
After the SEA Games loss, Petecio finally stopped delaying. She asked her coaches and the Abap leadership for time. Then she called her doctor.
She underwent eye surgery at the American Eye Center, at Podium Mall shortly after returning to Manila. Recovery has been slow and restrictive — no water on her face, no full baths, blurry vision, shadows where letters should be.
“Lisod kaayo (It’s very difficult),” she said. “Duha ka mata ang gi-operahan (The doctors operated on both of my eyes).”
For the first time in years, Petecio said she had to accept stillness. She credited her partner and family for helping her through the recovery, a side of an athlete’s life rarely visible to the public.
Now back home in Davao del Sur, Petecio is focused on healing before anything else. She has temporarily muted the aggression that once defined her ring style, replacing it with caution and patience.
“Careful ko karon (I’m being careful now),” she said. “Pero mobalik ra na (I’m being careful now).”
She is already setting her sights on 2028. With World Boxing’s new points system in place, Petecio plans a disciplined return to her natural 57 kg division — and a lesson she said she learned the hard way.
“Dili na pwede ang one month lang nga training (One month of training is no longer enough),” she said. “Kailangan sakto ang timbang, sakto ang oras (the weight has to be right, the timing has to be right).”
The dream remains unchanged: an Olympic gold medal in boxing — something no Filipino boxer has achieved yet.
“Padayon gihapon ko (I’ll keep going),” she said. “Walang hinto hanggat walang ginto (No stopping until there’s gold).”
For now, Petecio draws strength from prayer, family, and perspective. If another Filipino wins that first gold before she does, she said she would still celebrate.
“Happy ko bisan kinsa (I’m happy no matter what),” she said. “Ang Ginoo ug ang pamilya — sila gyud akong kusog (I’m happy no matter what).”
At home, away from the noise, Nesthy Petecio is not retreating. She is resetting, quietly preparing for one more run at history. MLSA