The Philippines’ flag-bearer, boxer Nesthy Petecio, put on a clinic in her opener in the Paris Olympics with a unanimous decision over India’s Jaismine Lamboria on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old silver medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics schooled Lamboria, younger by 10 years, in all three rounds of the match in the 57kg division of women’s boxing for an eventual 5-0 drubbing. 

With the win, Petecio stood as the only Philippine team representative who survived the brutal Day 7 eliminations. She advances to the round of 16 and is two victories away from securing a medal finish.

Among the Filipino athletes who bowed out of their respective events was swimmer Kayla Sanchez, 23, a Tokyo Olympics medalist. She clocked a Philippine record of 53.67 in women’s swimming 100m freestyle at heat 4, placing her 10th overall going into the semifinals for the Top 16. 

But Sanchez failed to make it to the Top 8 in the finals, exiting the event in 15th place with a time of 54.21 seconds. 

Boxer Eumir Marcial, Petecio’s co-flag-bearer, also lost his chance for a back-to-back Olympic medal finish after suffering an upset loss to Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev in the men’s boxing 80kg division. 

Khabibullaev, 20, seemed too fierce an underdog for Marcial, 28, a bronze medalist in the Tokyo Olympics. The Filipino struggled to keep up in scoring in the first two rounds, and the Uzbek’s commanding lead proved to be insurmountable as the bout ended in a unanimous decision. 

Rower Joanie Delgaco also lost her chance for an Olympic medal, placing sixth in the quarterfinals of the women’s single sculls with a time of 7 minutes 58.30 seconds. She reached the round via repechage, clocking 7 minutes 55 seconds—the fastest time among her competitors. 

Filipino Japanese judoka Kiyomi Watanabe’s Olympic stint was cut short in the opening match, losing to the world’s No. 22 Tang Jing of China via a 20-second pin in women’s judo 63k division.

Height, reach disadvantage

Despite the glaring height and reach disadvantage, the 5-foot-2 Petecio made full use of her speed advantage over the 5-foot-9 Lamboria. She weaved through the Indian’s punches while consistently landing her own to mount her lead early into the fight. 

Her corner could be heard saying in Filipino during the first- round break: “What you’re doing is right. Just don’t get complacent.”  

Petecio’s deep understanding of distance and defense was evident in her head movements and counterpunches, which prevented Lamboria from scoring effectively and seizing the lead.

The judges scored 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of the fighter from Davao.

Petecio returns to action on Aug. 3, when she faces the host country’s representative and reigning European Games champion, Amina Zidani, in the round of 16.

Read more: Quest for gold: Paris is boxer Nesthy Petecio’s ‘final mission’