Nesthy Petecio: World's Number Two Who is Following Her Father's Dream

Boxing is predominantly a sport for men but for Filipina boxer in Nesthy Petecio, she is boxing for the fulfillment of her father's dream for her which is to become a world champion. And believe it or not, Nesthy Petecio has already achieved so much, even being named as world's number two by the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) on the 57-kilogram category. Not a bad accomplishment at all for someone whose humble beginning in the boxing world included her using hand-made training tools devised by her supportive father.

If there's a common thing boxers have in their stories, it's that they have to punch their way up. For Nesthy Petecio, her story started when she was just an 11-year old. Petecio, who is a proud daughter of Tuban Sta. Cruz in  Davao del Sur, shared that she was discovered by boxing coaches when she competed and won the gold medal during the 2007 National Games that was held in Cagayan de Oro. The following year, she made it to the national team and during the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2011, 2013, and 2015, Petecio won three consecutive silver medals. She also won four gold medals in international competitions that she joined in 2018  before taking home the gold medal in the 2019 World Women's Boxing Championship featherweight division and of course, the gold medal in last year's SEA Games. She then shared that before all of the success that she achieved, Petecio had to endure several setbacks and difficulties that it even came to a point where she was about to give up. In spite of all the challenges she faced along the way, she used every defeat as a challenge and an inspiration to train even harder. 

And while Petecio, like any other Filipino athlete at this point in time, can't do a complete training as we're living in a time where a pandemic poses a serious threat, nothing can stop Nesthy Petecio from reaching her dream of winning that elusive first Olympic gold medal for the Philippines. "I'll continue to fight for the gold. I'll continue to fight for the dream of my family and, for the dream of my father" That is Nesthy Petecio's exact words in Filipino. It's about fighting for the dream.