Nesthy Petecio squares off vs. Chinese foe with sure bronze on the line; hurdlers John Cabang Tolentino, Lauren Hoffman begin Olympic bids

Nesthy Petecio will look to stretch her dominant run so far as she slugs it out against China’s Zichin Xu in the quarterfinals of women's 57kg class with a guaranteed bronze medal at stake in the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

The 32-year-old Petecio returns to the boxing ring at 9:30 p.m. and will only need just a win to deliver a second boxing medal for the Philippines and third overall after fellow boxer Aira Villegas captured a sure bronze medal at least in women's 50kg and gymnast Carlos Yulo seized a gold medal in the floor finals. 

Petecio has been phenomenal so far. She kicked off her campaign unanimous decision win against India's Jaismine in the Round of 32 before eking out a split 4-1 victory over home bet and third-seeded Amina Zidani of France in their Round of 16 clash. 

A win will also inch Petecio closer to her goal of claiming the gold medal after settling for a silver in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. 

Meanwhile, two Filipino hurdlers John Cabang Tolentino and Lauren Hoffman will begin their Olympics debut. 

Cabang Tolentino, who currently ranks 35th in the world, will compete in the men's 110m round 1 at 5:50 p.m. at the Stade de France while Hoffman will see action in the women's 400m round 1 at 6:35 p.m. 

For the hurdles, top three racers in each heat and the next three fastest will book outright semifinals seats. The rest, however, will still have a chance through the repechage. 

To cap the day, Yulo will again compete in the vault finals for a chance for another Olympic medal.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News