Petecio bewildered by close Olympic loss

MANILA, Philippines -- “Sobrang labo.”

This was how Filipina boxer Nesthy Petecio described her split decision loss against Poland’s Julia Szeremeta in the semifinal round of the women’s 57kg boxing in the Paris Olympics early Thursday morning.

Petecio brought home the bronze medal after falling against the younger Polish slugger.

It denied the Filipina pug a chance of fighting for a gold medal this time around, after a silver medal finish in Tokyo three years back.

In an interview after her bout, the pride of Davao del Sur stressed that she thought she won, especially after landing shots.

“Sobrang labo. Sobrang labo talaga pero yun ang nakikita nila e, so wala tayong magagawa po,” she said.

“Pero grabe, wala siyang clear punch sa third round. Yung mga body shots ko, yung mga hook ko, pumapasok. Ewan ko, 'di ko alam anong nangyari,” she added.

Despite this, Petecio said that she respects the decision.

“Yun na nga po, di ko alam e. Lagi akong naco-caution ng referee, 'di ko alam kung bakit. Di ko alam kung ano yung nakikitang side nila and sila na yun, nirerespeto ko yun.”

Meanwhile, the 32-year-old boxer, who is now a multiple-time Olympic medalist, seemingly kept the door open on a comeback.

“Tignan po natin. 'Di ko pa po masasabi ngayon pero yun nga, hangga’t kaya ko pa, bakit 'di natin pagpatuloy?”

Petecio's third place finish put the country tied at 24th in the medal tally with two golds and two bronzes.

Aside from the two golds from Carlos Yulo, the two bronzes came from Petecio and fellow boxer Aira Villegas.

The Philippine delegation in Paris is now down to four -- golfers Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan and weightlifters Elreen Ando and Vanessa Sarno.