Nesthy Petecio secured at least a bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after defeating Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda of Colombia via unanimous decision in the women's featherweight quarterfinal at the Kokugikan Arena on Wednesday, July 28.
All five judges scored the bout in favor of Petecio, with three scoring it 29-28 while two others scoring it 30-27.
Petecio became the first Filipino boxer to win an Olympic medal since Onyok Velasco earned silver in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The 2019 AIBA Women's Boxing Championship featherweight gold medalist will advance to the semifinals where she will take on Irma Testa of Italy on Saturday, July 31.
In the process, the Philippines is set for a multi-medal finish in the Summer Games for the first time in 89 years.
The last and only time the country took home home two or more medals in the Olympiad was back in the 1932 Los Angeles Games, where Jose Villanueva (boxing) Teófilo Yldefonso (swimming), and Simeon Toribo(athletics) captured three bronze medals. — Ohmer Bautista/PH Yahoo News