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    Nesthy Petecio stuns top-seeded Taiwanese in Tokyo thriller

    Petecio through to quarterfinals
    Jul 26, 2021
    PHOTO: AP

    TOKYO - Nesthy Petecio launched a late flurry to beat top-seeded Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting, 3-2, and reach the featherweight quarterfinals of the boxing competition of the Tokyo Olympics at the Kokugikan Arena.

    Petecio, 29, won the first round but got tagged time and again in the second round by a couple of clear long-range shots by a 5-foot-7 Taiwanese opponent who stood almost a head taller than the audacious Filipino pug.

    With everything to fight for in the final round, Petecio looked to trail early until she started tagging the world's top-ranked featherweight with stinging straights and an effective right hook in a slambang, back-and-forth finish.

    Nesthy Petecio in action in the Tokyo Olympics against Lin Yu-ting

    "Sabi nga po ni coach Boy (Velasco), nakaw-nakaw lang, pa-counter-counter at huwag magpatama," Petecio said of the tactics against the tall and rangy Lin, a world champion as a bantamweight in 2018, that earned the split decision.

    "Iningatan ko lang na huwag akong matamaan ng solid," she added.

    Her second victory in this quadrennial conclave moved Petecio into the quarterfinals against Colombia's Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda, who pulled off a similarly close 3-2 win over Stanimira Petrova of Bulgaria in the succeeding match.

    For the record, Petecio, who is ranked No. 7 in the world two years since winning a gold medal at the worlds in 2019, stands a win away from the 19-man Philippine contingent's first boxing medal in these Games - and three from the gold.

    It didn't come easy.

    The match was so close the Cuban and German judges gave the fight to Lin by similar 29-28 scores under the 10-point must system employed by Olympic administrators in lieu of the old Aiba boxing organization.

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    Judges from Russia, Algeria and Indonesia gave a 29-28 nod to Petecio, keeping the record of the four-man Philippine team perfect so far through the first three days of the boxing competition.

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      PHOTO: AP
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