NESTHY Petecio has won medals in the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Championships, all the way down to the Southeast Asian Games.
And the only one missing in her stellar resume? A podium finish in the Asian Games.
That’s one thing motivating the 34-year-old Petecio going to the 20th edition of the quadrennial meet which officially kicks off on Saturday in Nagoya, Japan.
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“Hindi pa nagme-medal sa Asian Games yan ever. Isipin mo naka-dalawang medal na yan sa Olympics, naka-dalawang medal na siya sa World Championships isang gold, isang silver, tapos sa Asian Games wala pa rin siya,” disclosed Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Marcus Jarwin Manalo.
“So yun ang challenge sa kanya.”
Petecio is just one of four Filipino multi-medalists in the Olympics, bagging a silver and bronze in the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics, respectively.
She also claimed a gold and silver in the 2019 (Russia) and 2012 (Jeju City) World Championships, won a silver (2015 China) and a pair of bronze (2012 Mongolia and 2022 Aman) in the Asian Championships, while bringing home two gold medals (2023 Cambodia and 2019 Philippines), three silvers (2011 Jakarta, 2013 Myanmar, and 2015 Singapore), and two bronzes (2021 Vietnam and 2025 Thailand) in the Southeast Asian Games.
But somehow, Petecio couldn’t translate the same success in the Asiad, bombing out in the quarterfinals of the 2014 edition in Incheon, South Korea, losing in the round-of-16 in Jakarta, four years later, and a similar round-of-16 exit in Hangzhou in 2022.
“May times na ganun talaga kasi the best of the best ito sa Asia, with all due respect to the other continents,” said Manalo, adding 70 percent of the gold medal winners in boxing during the Paris Olympics were all from Asia.
But Petecio will be back again in search for a first ever medal finish in the Asiad.
This time she climbs back at 60kgs as her regular class at featherweight (57kgs) has been scrapped by organizers. It’s the same division she fought in Incheon 12 years ago.
“Ang plano namin kay Nesthy is dito muna siya sa 60kgs dahil mabigat din yung timbang na pinanggalingan niya after the Paris Olympics,” said Manalo.
“Wala siyang choice kasi hindi siya puwedeng bumaba ng 54kgs masyadong malayo na yun. But sa AIMAG (Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games) this December, bababa na siya sa 57kgs dahil may Olympic qualifier ka sa April. So bababa siya ng timbang after ng Asian Games.”
To prepare Petecio going up against bigger opponents at lightweight, ABAP had her trained with some of the team’s male boxers in the same class, namely Aaron Jude Bado and Nesthy’s brother Norlan Petecio, who is also part of the seven-man boxing unit in the Asiad.
“Kasi sure tayo na shorter siya doon sa mga makakalaban niya,” Manola. “Sa 57 (kgs) pa nga lang maliit na siya. Lalo na sa 60 (kgs).
“Pero maganda naman kay Nesthy, she knows how to use her advantage. Talagang loob ang laban niya diyan, hindi ka lalaban diyan ng long range kasi lugi ka. Pero alam niya na yan. Nasa isip niya na yan.”
The boxing team arrived in Nagoya last week and has now entered the Athletes’ Hotel after completing the final phase of training camp in Japan.
The official drawing of lots and technical committee meeting take place on Sept. 20, followed by Day 1 of competitions on Sept. 21.
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