[EDITOR'S NOTE: Get to know the 22 Filipino athletes bound for the 2024 Paris Olympics through this SPIN.ph series]
NESTHY Petecio has been there and done that.
Now bound for the Olympics for the second straight time, the veteran woman boxer knows exactly what she needs to do when she gets another crack at that elusive gold medal for the Philippine boxing team.
"Kung tatanungin ninyo ako ngayong 2024 sa Paris Olympics, chill lang ako sa lahat ng gagawin ko ngayon. Kung anuman yung pressure na yun, alam ko na yun. Lagi namin kasamang mga atleta yung pressure na yun," said Petecio before leaving for Metz, France where Team Philippines set up its training camp for the Paris Games
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"Lagi ngang sinasabi sa amin ni sir Marcus Manalo (secretary general of ABAP), doon kami mag-focus sa kaya naming i-handle. At ang kaya kong i-handle dito ay yung performance ko."
Petecio admitted pressure got the better of her in the Tokyo Olympics four years ago.
She recounted an incident she experienced right on the eve of her gold medal match against hometown bet Sena Irie.
"Gusto ko lang malaman ninyo kung gaano kabigat 'yung pressure na naramdaman ko that time. Imagine ninyo matutulog na ako that time, laban ko kinabukasan, pag-angat ko ng kumot ko, flag ng Japan yung nakita ko. Ganun katindi yung pressure na naramdaman ko that time," she recalled.
Even in her sleep, Petecio said the Japanese flag kept on appearing in her subconscious.
As a result, the world championship gold medalist didn't have a sound sleep going to the gold medal match.
All she could do was pray.
"Sabi ko Lord alisin ninyo itong pressure na nararamdaman ko kasi ang hirap lumaban," she said. "Matindi yung pressure na naramdaman ko kasi first time kong makatuntong sa ganung level ng competition.
Her Japanese foe was also in her first Olympic stint, but with an entire nation behind her, Sena was favored to win the gold. Petecio ended up bagging the silver medal behind sheer will and perseverance despite the tremendous odds.
Adversity toughens Petecio
And her experiences in life at such a young age helped her get through it.
"Lahat kaming mga atleta doon kami humuhugot ng lakas dahil nakita namin yung paghihirap ng mga magulang namin. Doon ako nahubog, doon ako nagpursige," said Petecio, who didn't finish her studies as she began selling fertilizers at a young age to help the family augment its income.
"Pag may kita ako, bibili ako ng mga biscuit at tsaka kape, dun pa lang masaya na ako para sa pamilya ko," said the Olympian.
"Doon pa lang, sinabi ko kailangan kong mag-pursige dahil ayaw kong maranasan ng mga kapatid ko, mga pamangkin ko yung pinag-daanan ko."
Boxing was her way out.
Petecio began joining barangay tournaments in her province of Davao Del Sur, where she had her first-ever fight pitted against a boy.
It was during one of those boxing jousts that Petecio was spotted by the ABAP coaching staff, recalled former national coach Nolito 'Boy' Velasco.
From there, Nesthy began to make a name in amateur boxing, winning gold and medals of any color in the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Championships, and World Championships.
She eventually reached the summit in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by clinching one of two silvers the boxing team won - the other courtesy by Carlo Paalam.
The 32-year-old Petecio also made history by becoming the first lady pug to medal for the Philippines.
With middleweight Eumir Marcial adding a bronze, the Tokyo Games saw the best finish ever by a Philippine boxing squad in the quadrennial showcase.
Petecio, Paalam, and Marcial are going back to the Olympics this time with the mission of improving their respective finishes in Tokyo in 2020.
Nesthy though wouldn't want to say how things would end up this time.
The pressure is still there. But sure, she now knows how to handle it.
"Abangan n'yo na lang ako sa laban ko," vows Petecio.
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