Petecio begins hunt for Paris gold

BOXER Nesthy Petecio begins her hunt for the gold medal as she opens her Paris Olympics campaign at the North Paris Arena on Tuesday night (Manila time).

A silver medalist at the Tokyo Games three years ago, Petecio takes on Indian Jaismine Lamboria in the women's 57 kg round of 32 set at 11:54 p.m.

In a previous interview with The Manila Times, Petecio talked about the weight of living up to the people's expectations for her to deliver.

The 32-year-old from Davao is the first Filipino female boxer to medal, after all.

«I'm both pressured and glad about [people's high expectations],» said Petecio in an interview with The Manila Times Newsroom Sports edition.

«It's fun because people have a high regard for us but it's also pressure-inducing because it's not easy [to live up to].»

Petecio is the second to see action in the five-athlete Philippine boxing delegation, with the first one being Aira Villegas, who defeated Moroccan Yasmine Mouttaki in her opening match to enter the round of 16 in the women's 50 kg class.

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Meanwhile, rower Joanie Delgaco kickstarts the Philippine campaign on Tuesday as she races at 3:30 p.m. in the women's single sculls quarterfinals at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

The first Filipino female rower to make the Olympics is in group 3 at lane 6, needing to finish in top three to advance to the semifinals.

At 4 p.m., Filipino Japanese judoka Kiyomi Watanabe makes her Olympic return as she competes in women's 63 kg at the Champ-de-Mars Arena.

Watanabe battles Chinese Tang Jing in the round of 32.

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Previously representing Canada at the Tokyo Olympics, Kayla Sanchez now swims for the Philippines at 6:39 p.m. in the women's 100 m freestyle at the Pais La Defense Arena.

Slotted in heat 4, Sanchez needs her time to be one of the 16 fastest in the 4-heat, 30 swimmer field to advance to the semifinals.

In Tokyo, Sanchez won medals in team events 4x100 m freestyle (silver) and 4x100 m medley (bronze).

Sanchez, who made her Philippine swimming debut at the Asian Games last year, also owns the national records in 50 m freestyle (25.28 seconds), 100 m freestyle (54.25) and 50 m backstroke (28.66).