Nesthy Petecio fell prey to Poland's Julia Szeremata via split decision in a huge upset in the semifinals of the Paris Olympics women's 57-kilogram boxing early Thursday (PH time) at Roland Garros Stadium.
Szeremata stepped up in the final two rounds to swing the judges to her favor after her showboating did not work in Round 1, which all five judges gave to Petecio.
Four judges scored the match 29-28 for the 20-year-old Polish and one for Petecio, also 29-28.
Szeremata did not just assure herself of at least a silver medal but also denied a rematch between Petecio and controversial Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting.
Lin scored a unanimous decision win against Turkiye's Esra Kahraman in the first semifinal with all five judges scoring the bout 30-27.
Like Algerian welterweight Imane Khelif, Lin is also tagged in a gender-related issue that has hounded the Olympics boxing event.
Had Petecio won, she would have gotten a chance to get back at Lin after losing to her right at the start of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year.
Instead, Petecio will settle for the bronze, just like Aira Villegas in women's 50kg.
Medal contention
Earlier, golfer Bianca Pagdanganan was within close range of a possible medal finish after the opening round of women's golf event at Le Golf National.
After Round 1 concluded just after the clock struck midnight on Thursday, Pagdanganan, now the country's top golfer following Yuka Saso's decision to join Team Japan, finished at even par 72.
She was in a 13-way tie for 13th place which included world No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States.
Pagdanganan, Korda and the rest are just two strokes behind a four-way tie for third at two-under-par 70 among Mexico's Gaby Lopez, Switzerland's Morgane Metraux, Colombia's Mariajo Uribe, and the other American in the 60-woman field Lilia Vu, the world No. 2.
Three bogeys in holes 4, 5 and 7 hurt Pagdanganan's cause midway into the front nine as she was tied for fifth after the first three holes.
However, she bounced back with birdies in holes 12, 15 and 18 to get out of the red.
Meanwhile, Dottie Ardina struggled in her opening salvo as she cleared the Albatros course at four-over-par 76.
She tallied five bogeys in total including a double bogey in hole 15 and a single bogey in the par-5 hole 18.
The world No. 10 Saso, who was with Pagdanganan for Team Philippines during their Olympic debuts in 2021 Tokyo, finished five-over-par 77 due to six bogeys, including one double bogey in hole 7.
World No. 7 Celine Boutier made good use of the homefield advantage as the French took the early lead with a seven-under-par 65, highlighted by eight birdies against a lone bogey.
World No. 56 Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa is second at four-under-par 68.
On the other hand, John Ceniza failed to complete his Olympic debut as he quickly crashed out of the men's 61kg weightlifting on Wednesday at South Paris Arena.
Ceniza failed to lift all his three attempts at 125kg in the snatch and was no longer allowed to participate in the clean and jerk.
China's Li Fabin won the gold after totaling 310 kilos, including a new Olympic record 143 in the snatch.
Thailand's Theerapong Silachai took silver with 303kg, while the United States' Hampton Morris beat Malaysia's Mohamad Bin Kasdan by just one kilo for the bronze.
After Morris cleared 172kg in the clean and jerk to take third place, Bin Kasdan needed to lift 174 to overtake him again, but the Malaysian failed in both attempts.
Morris still tried to snatch the silver from Silachai, but he missed out on a 178kg lift on the final attempt of the day. (PNA)
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