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    Aussie coach tempers joy over 'scrappy' Petecio performance

    She can do a lot better, Abnett warns ahead of crucial Petecio face-off against top seed Lin
    Jul 24, 2021
    PHOTO: AP

    TOKYO — Philippine coach Don Abnett was quick to temper the joy over Nesthy Petecio's winning debut in the Tokyo Olympics, saying the Filipina fighter needs to raise her game if she is to entertain thoughts of a medal.

    "I felt she left some of her boxing skills in the dressing room," the straight-talking Aussie coach said even after Petecio easily dispatched Congo’s Marcelat Sakobi Matshu in their round-of-32 match at the Kokugikan Arena.

    The judges' scorecards may be overwhelmingly in Petecio's favor, giving but one round to the outmatched Matshu in a 5-0 shutout But Abnett wasn't too happy with the performance his fighter put out in her debut.

    "Well it was a scrappy performance," he said, although he as quick to add that "it’s better to win a scrappy fight than to lose a scrappy fight."

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    Abnett certainly wanted, and demanded, more since awaiting Petecio in the Round-of-16 is Chinese-Taipei's Lin Yu-Ting, a former world champion at bantamweight and now the top seed in the 54 to 57-kg division.

    Lin moved up to heavyweight in the 2019 world championships where she won bronze and Petecio gold. But the Taiwanese fighter has since ruled the Asian Championship where Petecio only finished in ninth place.

    To succeed against the tall and rangy Lin, Abnett said Petecio must fight a lot better than she did against the similarly tall Matshu. That means getting inside the Taiwanese's defense and getting within punching range.

    "She can do a lot better," Abnett said.

    Nesthy Petecio at the Tokyo Olympics.

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    The good news is, Petecio had a regular sparring partner in the Philippine team's long training camp in Thailand with the same fighting style as Lin. The Filipino had her ups and downs but eventually figured her out, Abnett added.

    "The style of the Taipei girl is similar to [her sparring partner] in Thailand. She had hot and cold performance against [the Thai] but in the end she got it right," he said. "It comes back to tactics."

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      The fight is set Monday, July 26 at 11: 39 a.m. (12:39 p.m., Philippine time).

      Before that, world’ No. 25 Magno takes on 17th-ranked Christine Ongare of Kenya in the preliminary round of the women’s flyweight division on Sunday. Men's flyweight No. 25 Carlo Paalam meets Irishman Brendan Irvine, ranked 32, also on Sunday.

      Eumir Marcial, by virtue of being the third seed, drew an opening bye. The middleweight gold prospect will fight the winner of the mach between Algeria’s Younes Nemouchi and Ugandan Kavuma David Ssemujju.

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      He needs two wins for a guaranteed medal and four for gold.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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      PHOTO: AP
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