By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina superstar boxer Nesthy Petecio was successful in avenging her bronze medal finish last year and dominated her Indonesian foe in the gold medal match of the women’s featherweight category last May 14, 2023, in the ongoing 2023 Southeast Asian Games held at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Petecio was locked-in soon as the official match bell rang and showed no mercy against Ratna Sari Devi of Indonesia to give team Philippines its fourth gold medal in the SEAG boxing tournament.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist picked up where she left off and outpointed her opponent in the highly-anticipated championship title match in the 57-kg weight class.
It was an impressive SEAG campaign for Petecio after knocking out Minavanh Oupaxa of Laos in the quarterfinal round to begin her gold medal hunt.
After a KO victory to move to the top 4 of the women’s division, Petecio earned a unanimous decision win over Cambodia’s Vy Sreysros to officially book her ticket to the grand finals.
Despite the volume of punches thrown by the Indonesian in the championship showdown, Petecio was more efficient with her attack and showed a major improvement in her head movement when the second round started.
Petecio then turned on the jets in the last round and earned more points after a striking masterclass that fended off the Indonesian from an upset win.
With the win, the PHL national boxing squad concluded a total of 10 medals in the biennial sporting event. Four golds, five silvers, and one bronze medal.
Joining Petecio in the list of the PHL gold medalists are Ian Clark Bautista, Carlo Paalam, and Julyfer Bascon.
