Two-time Olympic boxing medalist Nesthy Petecio aims to win two gold medals this year after a fruitful stint in the Paris Summer Games.
Petecio said she hopes to win top honors in the World Championships, which will take place from 4-14 September in Liverpool, England and the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand from 9 to 20 December.
The 32-year-old boxer is in Baguio City for the national team’s 10-week training camp.
“My target for this year is to be a world champion. There’s a world championship event this September and that’s my first target,” said Petecio, who settled for silver in the rescheduled 2021 Tokyo Games.
“Then, I want to defend my gold medal in the SEA Games. Those are my targets for this year.”
Petecio is expected to be one of the favorites after making it as far as the semifinals of the women’s 57-kilogram division before losing to Julia Szereneta of Poland via split decision.
While sideliners are betting on her to be one of the gold medal hopefuls for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Petecio wants to focus on the competitions for this year for now.
After all, it is still three years before the biggest multi-sport event in the world kicks off.
“For now, I’m not thinking about it. I still have three years for that, and I am an athlete focusing on the latest competition,” Petecio said.