ASIAN Games debutant Norlan Petecio got the Philippine boxing team’s campaign rolling in Nagoya, Japan with a dominant win over a Cambodian opponent.
The younger brother of Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio scored a 5-0 win over Sophors Vy of Cambodia in the men’s 70-kilogram class at the start of the boxing competitions at the Nishio gymnasium on Monday.
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Petecio, 24, is fighting in the quadrennial meet for the very first time after winning a silver medal in the same division during last year’s 33rd Southeast Asian Games.
He will be the country’s best bet in the heavier class of the 20th Asiad following the withdrawal of Tokyo Olympic medal winner Eumir Marcial (80kgs).
A total of 25 fighters are entered in the light-middleweight division.
On Tuesday, it’s the turn of Olympic bronze winner Aira Villegas to climb the ring. The 31-year-old pride of Tacloban City will be taking on Sakshi of India in the women’s 51kg preliminaries.
Villegas is among the country’s medal prospects in this 20th edition of the Asiad after winning a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
She also served as one of the country’s flagbearers during the formal opening ceremony last Friday along with weightlifter Albert Ian Delos Santos.
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