Tokyo Olympics: silver for Nesthy Petecio as Filipino falls short in her bid for gold against Japan’s Sena Irie
- Petecio claims silver medal after points loss to Japan’s Irie
- World Championship gold medallist falls short in bid to add Olympic gold
The 20-year-old Tokyo-based fighter leapt for joy before bursting into tears as the judges awarded her a unanimous points win, the first elite title of her short career.
It was heartbreak for 29-year-old Petecio, who was the resounding favourite to claim gold against her inexperienced rival. Petecio’s silver medal is Philippines’ second medal of these Games to add to Hidilyn Diaz’s gold medal in weightlifting.
Petecio said tribute she was dedicating the silver medal to those closest to her.
“This medal is not just for me: it’s for my country, it’s for my coach, for my best friend who died this year,” she said. “I dedicate this medal especially to my family, my country, to the Lord. Tears of joy, tears of joy.”
The fight itself was far from the most technically pleasing gold medal bout in the history of Olympic boxing – there were extended periods of holding as the referee struggled to control the pair, but the rangier Irie’s strategy to box at range and not allow the powerful Filipino to get inside worked. With time running out, a desperate Petecio resorted to huge shots that were mostly off-target as Irie wrapped up.
The judges awarded Irie the opening round unanimously. With Petecio slow to work her way into the fight, Irie was allowed to box at the end of her superior reach and consistently landed sharp jabs on the Filipino.
“The opponent’s punches are very strong, so the most important focus was to stay aggressive,” said Irie after the fight.
“I could land many jabs in the first round. That was the best of me today.”
Round two was more aggressive from Petecio, and she managed to land some heavy shots as she closed the distance between the pair. Irie struggled to extricate herself from fighting in close quarters with the Filipino. Whenever the range between them came to be enough to exchange, Petecio invariably came out on top.
Four of the five judges handed the second round to Petecio setting the bout up for a winner-takes-all final instalment.
The third was fought at a ferocious clip, but lacked any fluidity and was too often reduced to mauling – at one point both fighters hugged each other to the floor.
Petecio, sensing she likely hadn’t done enough to secure the final round, threw everything at the youngster as time ran out.
The fighters waited tensely for the judges’ decision, before elation for the Japanese in attendance at the hallowed sumo hall.
An emotional Irie said the gravity of her achievement had not dawned on her yet.
“By the time I came back to my senses I heard Kimigayo (the Japanese national anthem) playing,” said a tearful Irie. “That’s when I felt like I became the best in the world. It made me tear up.
“I opened the door of history completely.”
