An early lead wasn’t enough to prevent an upset as Nesthy Petecio couldn’t hold off her Polish opponent in the last two rounds.
Nesthy Petecio’s quest for the gold medal that eluded her in Tokyo came to a shock end in the semifinals in Paris 2024 after she lost a tight 4-1 split decision to Polish youngster Julia Szeremeta in their women’s 57kg bout at Roland-Garros.
One judge scored it 29-28 for Petecio but the other four had the same score for Szeremeta.
Petecio seemed on her way to another gold medal bout after sweeping the first round on all five judges’ scorecards as she used her experience against her 20-year-old opponent, who was fighting in her first Olympics but has made a name for herself in Paris with her ring flair and unique style.
But Szeremeta showed she was up to the task, rallying to take the second round 4-1 by getting the better of the exchanges and putting the bout up for grabs heading into the third round.
Suddenly, what appeared to be an impending win for Petecio became a winner-take-all scenario, and both boxers went all out in the final three minutes. But the veteran Filipina, who had looked formidable earlier in the tournament, couldn’t close the deal as she had trouble asserting her usual ring generalship against Szeremeta’s unorthodox boxing style.
In the end, all five judges gave the final round to Szeremeta, once again rewarding her overall movement even though Petecio landed some solid scoring punches.
Petecio was gracious in defeat, but this had to qualify as an upset considering the vast gulf in experience and how the Filipina looked totally locked in for the duration of the tournament.
The boxing contingent thus ends their Paris 2024 Olympics campaign with two bronze medals, with light-flyweight Aira Villegas accounting for the first.
Banner image from AFP.