Can Petecio polish off Polish foe?

Boxer Nesthy Petecio continues her quest for the gold medal as she faces Julia Szeremeta of Poland in the semifinal of the women’s 57-kilogram division in the Paris Olympics at the Roland-Garros Stadium on Thursday.

The bout starts at 3:46 a.m. (Manila time) as Petecio guns for a return trip to the gold medal match.

Petecio is already assured of at least a bronze medal after she defeated Zu Xichun of China in the quarterfinal last Monday.

The 32-year-old Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur native will be using her experience when she faces the 20-year-old Polish pug.

Petecio’s quickness will be the key against the neophyte Olympian as she aims for a spot in the final where she could possibly face Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei for all the marbles.

“We learned a lot from last year’s Asian Games and we made a lot of changes. We were open with each other and we were able to achieve our goal,” Petecio said.

“I’m thankful to my coaches for supporting my individual sparring, especially Jun Ogayre and my brother Norlan Petecio. They have been roughing me up in training.”

“Two more matches so hopefully we can get it this time.”