Nesthy Petecio advances to Round of 16 of Olympics qualifiers, 4 other Filipinos bow out

Nesthy Petecio remained on track for her second Olympics stint after winning against Maria Claudia Nechita of Romania via unanimous decision to move forward in the 1st World Qualification Tournament in Italy on Thursday.

With the 5-0 victory, the 31-year-old boxing ace earned a slot in the Round of 16 of the women’s 57 kg division and is three wins away from booking a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics as only the finalists of each category will qualify to the Summer Games. 

Petecio will now look to continue her momentum as she slugs it out with Germany’s Nancy Canan on Friday night. 

Meanwhile, four other Filipinos saw their respective campaigns in the qualifiers come to an end. 

Claudine Veloso fell to Japanese boxer Mikoto Harada via unanimous decision in the women’s 54kg while Mark Fajardo bowed to Jose Manuel Viafara of Colombia in a split decision in the men’s 63.5 kg. Fajardo, who represented the country during the 2023 SEA Games and Asian Games, got higher scorecards from two judges but earned a 28-29 defeat from the other three. 

Ronald Chavez also closed out his campaign after losing to Zeyad Eashash of Jordan via referee stoppage in the 2:15 mark of the first round of the men’s 71kg while John Marvin also got booted out after a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Kevin Kuadjovi of Togo during their clash in the Round of 32 in the men’s 92kg.

Alongside Petecio, four more Filipinos remain alive in the tournament with Rogen Ladon advancing to the Round of 16 of the men’s 51kg while Olympian Carlo Paalam and Aira Villegas have yet to see action. 

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News