Courtesy: POC Media Pool
Aira Villegas came up short in her opening bout on Tuesday, losing to India’s Sakshi by unanimous decision in the women’s 51kg Round of 32 at the Nishio Gymnasium.
The Paris Olympics bronze medalist struggled to land her combinations cleanly as Sakshi used her reach advantage effectively all throughout the three-round contest.
Four judges scored the fight 30-27 and a fifth had it 30-26 for the Indian boxer.
It was the second straight time that Villegas failed to move past the first round in the Asian Games after losing in the Round of 32 in 2023.
Meanwhile, Norlan Petecio advanced to the men’s 70kg Round of 16 on Monday after defeating Sophors Vy of Cambodia, 5-0.
Petecio worked behind a steady jab to secure the win and set up a showdown against Japan’s Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa on Thursday.
Up next will be Junmilardo Ogayre, who will take on Mongolia’s Lundaa Gantumur in the men’s 60kg preliminaries on Wednesday, September 23 at 11:30 AM.
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