Olympic silver medalist Nesthy Petecio looks up to weightlifter Hidilyhn Diaz as her sports hero.
Right from the moment she stepped in front of the Rizal Memorial Coliseum staring at a tarpaulin displaying Diaz and taekwondo jin Japoy Lizardo, Petecio found inspiration from a pint-sized lifter who came from the same province and worked her way into donning the national color.
Her sacrifices and hard work paid off last year when Petecio took home silver in the Tokyo Olympics just days after Diaz made history by copping the Philippines’ first-ever gold medal in the Summer Games.
After that, recognitions, awards, and financial incentives came pouring in for the Davao del Sur native, who saw boxing as her way out of poverty.
The 30-year-old pug admitted that after winning the women’s featherweight silver medal in the Games’ recent edition, she began questioning herself if she still has the same hunger as before considering she already accomplished quite a feat on the biggest stage for amateur boxers.
And by the time of the 2024 Paris Olympics, she would be facing younger opponents.
“After the (Tokyo) Olympics I just wanted to take a much-deserved rest. I wanted to enjoy all the blessings I have received for all the hard work I’ve put in to get to where I am now. To enjoy the fruits of my labor,” Petecio said.
“Honestly, I was thinking, asking myself if I still want to continue. It came to a point in which I thought, can I still compete like before? Can I still pull the trigger? Do I still want this?” she asked.
But just like a decade ago, it was Diaz who again lit the fire of her competitive spirit.
Diaz expressed her intention to vie for another gold medal in the Paris Olympics albeit moving up to the heavier 59kgs weight division after the 55kgs class where she won gold was scrapped.
“But when I saw Hidilyn. She really has a huge influence on me because she’s the one I look up to in sports,” Petecio said of the lifter who just came from a three-gold medal haul in the IWF World Championships in Bogota, Colombia.
“Again it’s Hidilyn who inspired me, and fueled the fire within me. I told myself that if Hids could still do it, so can I.”
To make another trip inside the Olympics boxing ring, Petecio is currently busy training along with other members of the national team in Baguio.
She is set to compete in both the Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games next year as well as in Olympic qualifying tournaments.
“I think we’ll be joining six or seven tournaments,” she said.
Petecio will be joining tilts in Bulgaria in February, Thailand Open in Bangkok and the IBA world women’s championship in India by March, SEA Games and Asian Games among others in the busy 2023 calendar.
“I’ll make sure I’ll be ready for every competition that I will join next year. Hopefully, I’ll get another crack at the Olympics gold,” Petecio vowed.
