Nesthy Petecio dominates Indian foe, clinches Round of 16 berth in Paris Olympics

Nesthy Petecio kicked off her gold medal quest on a high note, defeating Jaismine of India via unanimous decision in their Round of 32 clash in the women's 57kg division of the 2024 Paris Olympics, late Tuesday (Philippine time) at the North Paris Arena. 

The 32-year-old Filipina boxer, however, has a tall task ahead of her. She will next face third-seeded and hometown bet Amina Zidani of France in the Round of 16 on Saturday at 2 a.m. (Philippine time). 

Petecio, who is looking to complete an unfinished business after claiming the silver medal in Tokyo Olympics three years ago, started out strong by securing the nod of four of the five judges with American judge Shawn Reese the only one in favor of Jaismine, 4-1. 

Petecio momentarily went down to the canvas after tripping over Jaismine's right foot with 11 seconds left in the second round. However, her pesky defense all throughout the frame saw all judges in favor of the Filipina pugilist. 

In the final salvo, it was all Petecio, unloading a flurry of punches while dodging the ones coming from the Indian fighter en route to a unanimous decision triumph. 

Petecio now moves two wins away from a guaranteed medal as semifinalists are assured of at least a bronze medal in the Olympics. 

READ MORE | Philippines at the 2024 Paris Olympics

—JKC, GMA Integrated News