Villegas faces Turkish champ

Aira Villegas’ resolve will be tested as she goes up against the bemedalled Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey in the semifinal of the women’s 50-kilogram division in the Paris Olympics at the Roland-Garros Stadium early Wednesday (Manila time).

Villegas takes center stage at 4:18 a.m. as she tries to pull off another upset in her debut in the Summer Games.

The 29-year-old silenced the North Paris Arena last Sunday after beating home bet Wassila Lkhadiri in the quarterfinal, securing at least a bronze medal for the Philippine delegation.

A win against Cakiroglu will set her up for a gold medal match against No. 1 seed Wu Yu of China or Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan on Friday.

But getting over Cakiroglu will be easier said than done due to the 28-year-old Turkish pug’s accolades and experience.

Cakiroglu was a silver medalist in the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021 and was a 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships gold medalist in Istanbul.

Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines secretary general Marcus Manalo told DAILY TRIBUNE the national team has to be careful against Cakiroglu for a chance to enter the gold medal match.

“That’s going to be very tricky. The Turkish was a former world champion and we will have to study and plan our attack,” Manalo said.

“But the coaches and Aira will be ready.”