Petecio Triumphs; Marcial Exits Early at Paris Olympics

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MANILA, Philippines — Filipino boxer Nesthy Petecio delivered an impressive performance, while swimmer Kayla Sanchez set a new national record at the Paris Olympics.


Petecio dominated India's Jaismine Lamboria in the women's 57 kg round of 32, winning by unanimous decision at the North Paris Arena early Wednesday, July 31 (Manila time).


A Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, Petecio secured scores of three 30-27s and two 29-28s. Despite being ten years older and six inches shorter than her opponent, the 32-year-old Petecio, standing at 5-foot-2, leveraged her speed and experience to overcome Lamboria's height and youth advantages. She advances to the round of 16, where she will face France's Amina Zidani on August 3 at 2 a.m. in Manila.


Marcial's Unexpected Exit


In a surprising turn of events, Eumir Marcial was eliminated early after losing to Uzbek Turabek Khabibullaev by unanimous decision in the men's 80 kg round of 16. Marcial, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, was outmatched by the 20-year-old Khabibullaev, who received four 29-28 scores and one 30-27 score.


Sanchez Sets National Record


Swimmer Kayla Sanchez set a new Philippine record in the women's 100m freestyle heats at the Paris La Defense Arena on Tuesday evening. Sanchez clocked in at 53.67 seconds, surpassing her previous record of 54.25 seconds set at the Mel Zajac Jr. International Meet in Canada last June. Her record-breaking performance secured her a spot in the top 16 for the heats and advanced her to the semifinals. However, Sanchez finished 15th in the semifinals, missing out on the finals where only the top eight swimmers compete for medals.


Other Filipino Athletes


Marcial and Sanchez join the list of Filipino athletes who are no longer in medal contention, including gymnasts Levi Ruivivar, Emma Malabuyo, and Aleah Finnegan, fencer Samantha Catantan, rower Joanie Delgaco, and judoka Kiyomi Watanabe.


Nevertheless, 14 out of the 22-athlete Philippine delegation are still in the running for medals. This includes boxers Hergie Bacyadan (women's 75 kg) and Carlo Paalam (men's 57 kg), who were scheduled to begin their opening bouts on Wednesday evening.


Gymnast Carlos Yulo is also competing for an all-around event medal and will aim for medals in the floor exercise and vault finals on August 3 and 4, respectively.

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