Nesthy Petecio bags Olympic bronze in loss to Polish boxer in semis

Nesthy Petecio officially secured the bronze medal after a gallant stand against Poland's Julia Szeremeta in the 2024 Paris Olympics women's boxing 57kg semifinals on Thursday.

Petecio lost on points via split decision, 4-1.

The Filipino boxer took the first round as she swept the judges' score cards. However, the 20-year old Szeremeta had a better showing in the second round as she got the nods of four judges.

In the third round, Petecio at one point was brought to the floor because of the foe's footwork before the former quickly stood up. Szerementa, however, swept the score cards in the said frame to claim the victory.

Petecio started her Paris campaign with a win against India's Jaismine in the Round of 32, followed by another victory against hometown bet Amina Zidani in the Round of 16. 

The Filipino boxer was guaranteed a bronze medal as she punched a semis slot when she defeated China's Xu Zichun in the quarterfinals.

This is Petecio's second Olympic medal following her silver in Tokyo three years ago.

With the loss, this concludes Philippine boxing's campaign in Paris with two bronze medals, the other one from Aira Villegas.

The Philippines now officially has four medals from the Summer Games after Carlos Yulo's double gold in men's gymnastics.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News