Villegas wins bronze in boxing at Paris Olympics

Filipina boxer Aira Villegas secured a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after losing to Turkey's Buse Naz Çakiroglu in the semifinals, marking her successful debut in the Summer Games.

Villegas expressed gratitude and satisfaction with her performance despite falling short of reaching the final match, emphasizing her determination to win an Olympic gold medal in future competitions.

The boxer defeated France's Wassila Lkhadiri, Algeria's Roumaysa Boualam, and Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki before facing Çakiroglu in a unanimous decision loss with scores of 30-26, 30-27.

Villegas acknowledged that she faced a better fighter this time but remains determined to improve and win against her in future competitions.

This is the Philippines' third medal in the ongoing Games after Carlos Yulo's double gold medals and Nesthy Petecio's bronze from the women's 57kg event, with Villegas hailing from Tacloban, Leyte, where boxing has been a source of livelihood for her family since recovering from Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

Villegas' journey as an Olympian ended in a semifinal loss but she vowed to continue pursuing her Olympic gold dream while also studying criminology at the University of Baguio.