Villegas advances, three more boxers set to compete

Boxer Aira Villegas advanced to the Round of 16 in the women's 50kg class at the Paris Games after defeating Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki with a unanimous decision on Sunday (early Monday Manila time).

Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Nesthy Petecio is set to compete next in the women's 57kg division against Jaismine of Indonesia at 11:54 p.m. Tuesday (PH time), while Tokyo Games bronze medalists Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial, along with rookie Hergie Bacyadan, will open their campaigns on Wednesday.

Villegas faces Algeria's Roumaysa Boualam in her next bout on Friday at 2:00 a.m. (Manila time), while Bacyadan takes on top-seeded Chinese boxer Li Qian and Paalam battles Irish fighter Jude Gallagher in the round-of-16 matches.

Three more Philippine boxers, including Tokyo Games medalists Eumir Marcial and Carlo Paalam, open their campaigns on Wednesday with matches in their respective weight classes, as Villegas praised her coach Rey Galido for helping her achieve success.