Boxers Nesthy Petecio, Eumir Marcial set to begin Olympic gold medal hunt; Sanchez, Watanabe open campaigns

Boxing aces Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Marcial will open their respective quests for the elusive gold medal when they start their 2024 Paris Olympics campaign on Tuesday as they look to surpass their podium finishes in Tokyo three years ago.

Petecio, who settled for a silver medal last edition, will shoot for no less than the gold this time around. And standing in her way first is 22-year-old Jaismine Lamboria of India in their Round of 32 clash in the women's 57kg class at the North Paris Arena at 11:54 p.m. (Philippine time).

The 32-year-old Petecio is hoping to kick off her campaign on a rousing note as she eyes to bounce back after falling short in Tokyo, where she bowed to hometown bet Sena Irie of Japan in the finals.

Meanwhile, another Olympic medalist in Marcial will also finally get into action after earning a Round of 32 bye. The 28-year-old fighter, who took home a bronze medal in Tokyo, will square off with Uzbekistan's Turabek Khabibullaev in the Round of 16 to jumpstart his own campaign at 3:04 a.m. (early Wednesday in the Philippines)

A win by Marcial will book him an early quarterfinals clash with reigning Olympic champion Arlen Lopez of Cuba, who ruled the -81kg division in the previous Summer Games.

Two more Filipinas will see action with Filipina-Canadian swimmer Kayla Sanchez and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe taking the spotlight.

Sanchez will begin her second straight Olympic appearance as she sees action in the women's 100m freestyle Heat 4 at 6:47 p.m. at the Paris La Defensa Arena.

The 23-year-old Sanchez, who bagged two medals in Tokyo while representing Canada, will compete alongside Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong, who finished as silver medalist in Tokyo in the same event.

Lone Filipina judo bet Watanabe, on the other hand, will open her bid against China's Jing Tang in the Round of 32 of women's -63kg division at 4 p.m. at the Champ-de-Mars Arena.

The 27-year-old Watanabe is eyeing to eclipse her Olympic debut in Tokyo, where she fell prey to Cristina Cabana Perez of Spain in the Round of 32 via ippon in just 38 seconds.

Aside from the four athletes, also set to continue her dream run is rower Joanie Delgaco, who will compete in the quarterfinals stage of the women's single sculls at 3:50 p.m.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News