Aira Villegas assured of at least Olympic bronze with win vs French foe, advances to semis

Aira Villegas guaranteed the Philippines its second medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics as she defeated France's Wassila Lkhadiri on early Sunday in the women's boxing 50kg quarterfinals.

As the Filipino boxer advanced to the semifinals, 29-28, 29-28, 27-30, 28-29, 29-28, she is already assured of at least a bronze medal.

The first two rounds were tight, as Villegas took the first, 3-2, while the hometown bet got three judges' nods in the next one.

Coming into the third round, both boxers seemed pressured but Villegas gave the first big shot, followed by quicker punches as the said frame remained close. Lkhadiri actually took the third round, 3-2, but the total scores favored the Philippine boxer. 

In the end, as the decision was announced, Villegas reached out to the tearful Lkhadiri in a show of sportsmanship.

Prior to this, Villegas defeated Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki in the Round of 32 and Algeria's Roumaysa Boualam in the Round of 16.

On Saturday, gymnast Carlos Yulo won the country's first gold medal from the Paris Summer Games.

Villegas' win also continues Philippine boxing campaign with only her and Nesthy Petecio in contention for a medal. Earlier, Carlo Paalam ended his Olympic run.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News