Petecio eyes 2nd gold for PH

Paalam refuses to say goodbye, takes a shot at bronze; EJ Obiena in final

- TITO S. TALAO

TOKYO – Boxing, the bulwark of Philippine participation in the Games until Hidilyn Diaz came along and lifted weightlifting to golden heights, continued to enjoy a power-packed resurgence in the XXXII Olympiad Saturday even as pole vault cleared the bar while golf stumbled in the fairway.

No other fighter, so far, has defined boxing’s role in energizing the country’s most rewarding Olympic stint in 97 years as featherweight Nesthy Petecio.

The 5-foot-3 reigning world champion in her division pulled off a stirring comeback against 5-foot-8 Irma Testa of Italy in the 54-57 kg semifinals to claim a 4-1 split decision, after dropping the first round, and gain a shot at a potential second gold medal for the nation.

Already assured of the silver, a first for boxing in the Olympics in 25 years after Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco took a similarly-colored medal in Atlanta in 1996, Petecio fights for the gold against a yet to be determined opponent on August 3 at the Kokugikan Arena, days after she and middleweight Eumir Felix Marcial watched transfixed on TV at the Athletes Village and whooped as Diaz won the country’s first Olympic gold medal in a non-demonstration sport in the 55kg weightlifting competition.

Making it to the Olympics was a promise fulfilled to her father, said Petecio. But going deeper into the medal round is something she wants for herself.