Metro Manila, Philippines — The boxing gold medal remained elusive for the Philippines as Nesthy Petecio failed to get another crack at it following a shocking exit in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The 32-year-old Petecio suffered a stunning split decision loss to Poland’s Julia Szeremeta in the women’s 57 kg semis Thursday at the Roland Garros Stadium.

Petecio looked good early in the contest, earning the nod of all five judges in the first round.
Szeremeta did enough to land more precise punches than the veteran Filipino pugilist in the second and third frames to secure the huge win.
The setback denied Petecio of another clash with Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting. The two met at the Round of 16 in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with Petecio prevailing in the close slugfest.
Despite the loss, Petecio joined swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, and gymnast Carlos Yulo as the Filipino athletes who won multiple Olympic medals, and became the first boxer to do so.