By REY C. LACHICA
PARIS – She was razor-sharp and dominant.
Sadly, Nesthy Petecio’s swashbuckling performance over a taller Xi Zichu of China in the quarterfinals of the 57kg division in the Paris Olympics on Sunday, Aug. 4, was hardly noticed.
Even how significant it was, Petecio’s triumph was clearly overshadowed by gymnast Carlos Yulo’s magical performance that saw the proud son of Manila capture his second gold medal in a span of 24 hours.
She is guaranteed to become the third Filipino to win a medal in two straight Olympics after swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso (1928 and 1932) and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo (2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo).
Petecio was not complaining, in fact she was happy and proud for Yulo’s golden moments in the lovey French capital.
Her time to shine will come very soon as she earned the right to face Poland’s Julia Szeremta in the semis on Wednesday at the Roland Garros Stadium – home to French Open, one of four Grand Slam events in tennis.
Though shorter by two inches but richer in experience, Petecio battered the 5-foot-6 Chinese with an array of combos none more telling were her vicious left hooks she uncorked from time to time that drew wild chants of “Pilipinas! Pilipinas!”
That proved to be music to her ears that she increased the volume of punches she unleashed even though she was already ahead by a mile in the scorecards of the five judges.
Though already assured of a bronze medal, Petecio vowed to win her next two fights to improve on her silver medal performance in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games.
At 32, Petecio is leaving no stone unturned to make her own version of “Last Dance” very memorable, one worth telling many times over.
