PINOY BOXING 20: AIRA VILLEGAS, ANOTHER LADY 2024 PARIS OLYMPIAN
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 07 Jun 2024
Aira Villegas is a southpaw amateur boxer who comes from Tacloban City. She has competed in at least two tournaments of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in the 52kg division. For the 2022 competition in Turkey, she was forced to move down to the 50kg division after her previous weight category was cancelled.
In 2021, Villegas was chosen by the Philippine Olympic Committee to the Olympics Solidarity Scholarship Grant by the International Olympic Committee.
She has also participated at the Asian Games which in September 2023 held in Hangzhou, China. Villegas is also a 2019 Manila Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist.
Villegas qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, by winning the quota bouts round, in the women's flyweight division, at the 2024 1st World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy.
“It is my dream to compete and represent our country in the Olympics,” Villegas, 28, was quoted by PNA News. She booked a ticket to Paris with a 5-0 win over Bulgaria's Zlatislava Chukanova in the 50kg quarterfinals of the tournament on March 12.
Villegas acknowledged her elder brother, Rominick, for acquainting her with the sport of boxing. Rominick was a scholar-trainee of the Leyte Sports Academy, the provincial government-managed sports institute. He is now the coach of the school’s boxing team.
Villegas said she has been a member of the national boxing team since 2012, winning 29 of her 45 bouts so far.
Paris Olympics will be held next month and Villegas said she trained even harder than ever and is targeting no less than the gold medal.
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