Team Philippines has an additional bronze medal courtesy of boxer Aira Villegas, who just couldn’t get past a veteran opponent in their semifinal bout.
Aira Villegas gave it her all against a mighty opponent but ultimately fell short against third seed Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey, dropping a unanimous decision in their Paris 2024 Olympics women’s 50kg semifinal bout at Roland-Garros Stadium to settle for the bronze medal.
Two judges gave Cakiroglu a 10-8 round, pegging the scores at 30-27 three times and 30-26 twice for the Turkish fighter who has been on a mission Paris to win it all.
Cakiroglu, the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist and 2022 World Championships gold medalist, has yet to lose on any judges’ scorecard so far, registering three consecutive 5-0 wins as she seeks to capture the gold that eluded her in Tokyo.
Cakiroglu set the town in the first round, landing a solid right straight that prompted a standing eight count from the referee. She kept Villegas at bay with a stiff right jab and constantly won the exchanges up close.
Villegas pushed back in the second round and appeared to have scored a clean knockdown in the second round with a right straight that could have tilted the scorecards, but the referee ruled it a slip.
The third round saw Villegas try to land a big punch in hopes of scoring a stoppage, but Cakiroglu was too savvy and cruised to the win. The Turkish fighter will face top seed Yu Wu from China for the gold medal.
Villegas adds to Team Philippines’ medal tally, which now stands at two golds and one bronze. Featherweight Nesthy Petecio will attempt to go further than Villegas on early Thursday morning Manila time when she takes on Julia Szeremeta of Poland in their women’s 57kg division semifinal.
Banner Image from AFP.
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