NESTHY Petecio rose to the occasion and silenced the home crowd, scoring a methodical 4-1 win over No. 3 ranked Amina Zidani of France to advance to the quarterfinals of the women’s featherweight class of the Paris Olympics early Saturday morning (Manila time).
The Tokyo Games silver medal winner took some time before getting into the groove. But once she found her rhythm, it marked the beginning of the end for the determined but outclassed Frenchwoman.
The 32-year-old Petecio punished Zidani with left-right power punches from the second round onwards to claim the round-of-16 match at 57 kg. and move within a win of a second Olympic medal in her distinguished career.
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Xu Zichun is next for Petecio after the Chinese bet scored a close 3-2 decision against sixth-ranked Valeria Arboleda of Columbia in the second session of the day.
Petecio and Xu tangle on Sunday at 9:30 p.m.
The Filipina appeared to have even knocked down Zidani with a left hook during a wild exchange in the second round, but referee Mar Souilmi Mouhsine waived it off and ruled it as a slip.
Nonetheless, the second-round barrage allowed Petecio to win in all of the judges’ scorecards (5-0) after closely dropping the opening round at 3-2. The Filipina never let up until the end and did enough to win the thrilling bout.
“Be unpredictable, be unpredictable,” hollered Philippine coach Don Abnett in the corner after Petecio found herself trailing in the first round.
The Sta. Cruz, Davao Del Sur native thus joined fellow Filipino pugs Aira Villegas and Carlo Paalam in the Round-of-Eight as all three moved just a win away from being assured of a podium finish.
Cheered on endlessly by the huge French crowd at the North Paris Arena, the 30-year-old Zidani appeared stunned when the blue corner was announced the winner, her mouth agape as she went back to her corner.
Zidani reduced to tears
She later shed tears while walking back to the dressing room amidst cheers from the home crowd.
But the six-time national champion and bronze medalist in last year’s Women’s World Championship had no answer the moment Petecio began to pile on the pressure in the second round, charging forward and unleashing power punches in combinations.
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