Nesthy Petecio is drawing inspiration from the exploits and achievements of weightlifting gold medallist Hidilyn Diaz.
The 29-year-old Petecio, who will soon return to the country as an Olympic silver medalist, cited Diaz as her role model, a few hours after she lost to Japan’s Irie Sena in the women’s featherweight division finals Tuesday of the Summer Olympic Gamesat the Kokugikan Arena.
“Si Hidilyn ay nag-silver sa Rio. Bakit hindi ko subukan sa Paris? Hindi lang silver. Baka makuha natin ang gold,” said Petecio during a special virtual session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Zoom.
Petecio hopes to have a shot at qualification for the Paris Games in the next three years after claiming the country’s first boxing silver of the Tokyo Games in 25 years.
The 5’2” Petecio, who is on her first Olympic campaign, bowed to Irie, via a unanimous decision loss, 0-5.
She gave credit her medal to her coach Nolito Velasco, whose guidance allowed her to reach the finals.
“Salamat sa coach ko, sumubok ako sa ganitong situation. Proud ako, dahil naabot ko ang aking pangarap,” added Petecio, who hails from Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.
It was Petecio’s second return match with the Japanese. The 20-year-old Irie also won over her, 4-1, in the Asia-Oceania qualifiers in March last year.
Her loss to Irie kept Petecio from qualifying outright to the Summer Games, before she eventually gained qualification through her rankings.