Nesthy Petecio advances to Paris Olympics Round of 16

Filipina boxer Nesthy Petecio advanced to the Round of 16 in the women's 57kg category at the Paris Olympics after defeating India's Jaismine Lamboria via unanimous decision.

The judges scored the bout 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of Petecio, the silver medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, with the Davaoeña fighter yielding only two points to Lamboria.

Petecio stated that the match was difficult due to her opponent's significant height advantage, but she responded to the nonstop "Pilipinas!" chants with an impressive display of skills and savvy.

She credited her victory to a well-executed game plan focusing on footwork and counterattacks, meticulously studied by her coach, Reynaldo Galido.

Petecio will face hometown bet Amina Zidani of France in the next round on August 3.

She needs two more wins to crack the top 4 for a sure medal.

The hands-down favorite in the upper bracket of the chart is Chinese Taipei's Lin Yu Ting.