Petecio settles for silver after close defeat to Irie

FILIPINO boxer Nesthy A. Petecio settled for silver in the Tokyo Games after bowing to Japanese Sena Irie by unanimous decision in the gold medal match of the women’s featherweight boxing tournament at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo, Tuesday.

Ms. Petecio, 29, tried hard to get the gold with a more authoritative showing in the last two rounds but just could not get the nod of the judges in the end to lose, 5-0.

The Philippine bet was frustrated in the first round by the continued holding and clinching of the Japanese to stop Ms. Petecio from gaining any momentum.

In the second and third rounds, Ms. Petecio did a better job landing more punches despite Ms. Irie’s attempts to slow down the contest.

On the scorecard, Ms. Irie won 29-28 in four judges while one scored it 30-27.

“Like most of us, we felt the Japanese, Irie, employed some one-upmanship by a lot of holding tactics, and she got the benefit of the doubt from the referee and it was allowed to go on several times in the fight, which should not have been the case. It was her fight plan, I guess, and it worked,” said a disappointed Ed Picson, secretary-general of the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines, in an interview with TV5.

“But we’re still proud of Nesthy and her achievements here makes her a gem more in Philippine boxing and an inspiration for younger boxers,” he added.

Ms. Petecio’s silver medal finish equals that achieved by Mansueto Velasco in 1996 in Atlanta and Anthony Villanueva in 1964 in Tokyo.

Two more Filipino boxers in Eumir Felix D. Marcial (middleweight) and Carlo Paalam (flyweight) are in still contention for a possible gold medal.

For her silver, Ms. Petecio is set to receive cash incentives from both the government and the private sector amounting to at least P17 million.

She is also to get a residential condominium unit in her hometown of Davao City worth P10 million from tycoon Dr. Andrew L. Tan and Suntrust Properties, Inc.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) and AirAsia Philippines, too, are rewarding Ms. Petecio for her impressive run in the Olympics.

PAL is gifting the silver medallist 60,000 Mabuhay Miles per year for life.

AirAsia, for its part, is giving Ms. Petecio five years of unlimited flights.

“We hope the free flights would motivate our athletes to always go all the way … and never stop dreaming big,” it said in a statement. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo