Nesthy Petecio bags gold in AIBA Women’s World Boxing championship

Not 24 hours after Carlos Yulo's victory at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, another Pinoy athlete has brought pride to our country.

On Sunday, Nesthy Petecio bagged the gold medal in the featherweight division of the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing championship held in Ulan-Ude, Russia.

Petecio bested hometown fighter Liudmila Vorontsova, who clinched silver via a split decision after three rounds.

The judges were split between the two competitors, with Australia (30-27), Korea (3027) and Ireland (29-28) giving the win to Petecio, while Japan (30-27) and Argentina (29-28) gave Vorontsova the edge.

"Nesthy deserved the win. Not only because she fought brilliantly but also because she sacrificed so much for this," Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) president Ricky Vargas said in a release from the organization. "Am shedding tears of joy for her. Mabuhay ka, Nesthy!"

Vargas also credited Petecio's coaches Boy Velasco and Reynaldo Galido. "Actually, the entire ABAP coaching staff headed by head coach Pat Gaspi deserves the credit, including our foreign consultant Don Abnett. They did a great job," he said.

Englishwoman Kariss Artingstall and Chinese Taipei's Lin Yu-ting won bronze. — Justin Kenneth Carandang/BM, GMA News