The Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) will be fielding in veteran Nesthy Petecio in the 2016 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan set on May 19 to 27.
The 24-year-old Petecio will compete in the flyweight class (51kg), her third try since women’s boxing was introduced at the 2012 London Olympics.
Petecio bowed out in the preliminaries of that quadrennial meet’s qualifier at the 2012 World Women’s Boxing championships in China.
Last March, Petecio suffered another heartbreaker when she failed to advance past the quarterfinals of the Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifier in China.
In next week’s final qualifier, the top four boxers will get tickets to Rio, a situation that looks like an easy task for the Davao Del Sur native boxer.
“Mahirap din po kasi lahat ng magagaling sasali dyan. Basta tumutok lang ako sa naging kakula-ngan ko noong nakaraang qualifier,” said Petecio.
Women’s boxing in the Olympics has been allotted three weight divisions namely the flyweight, lightweight (60kg) and middleweight (75kg) but ABAP has decided not to field any contestant in the two other categories due to lack of available talents.
However, ABAP will still send lightflyweight Josie Gabuco and bantamweight Irish Magno to the Astana joust.
Accompanying the team are coaches Roel Velasco, Mitchel Martinez and Violito Payla.