Aira, Nesthy Box in the Shadows in the 2019 Manila SouthEast Asian Games
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 05 Aug 2024
Current women's boxing toasts Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas boxed under the shadows of their more popular teammates in the 2019 Manila Southeast Asian Games boxing competition.
I covered the boxing competition for then DWSR Sports Radio held at the PICC covered Pavilion on Dec 4-9, 2019 and saw up close and personal how Nesthy and especially Aira were largely "ignored" or taken for granted by both local media and the live fans.
The star of the women's team then was light flyweight Josie Gabuco who was going for - and achieved a record fifth straight gold medal in the biennial games.
It wasn't Josie's fault that much attention was showered upon her. Being a veteran, she had learned how to deal with the mobbing media and fans some of whom even had selfie sessions with her on her way to the dressing room. Aside from her celebrity aura she was also charming and very articulate.
Aside from Josie Gabuco, the cynosure of attention came from the men's squad like Eumir Marcial who was at his usual destructive self and veteran Charly Suarez who many believed as do I, saved the day for the Philippine team in staving off the Thais in the overall boxing championship. Carlo Paalam was also part of the team but not as popular as Gabuco, Marcial and Suarez.
The irony in Nesthy's relative "obscurity" then was even if she had earlier won the world championship at featherweight, she had yet to win a gold in the SEA Games boxing competition. She had failed to bring home the gold in the past two staging of the Games.
In Aira's case, she would not have the opportunity for the limelight as after a few unnoticed bouts and wins, she went on to lose in the semis against a tall and lanky Thai and settled for the bronze. It appeared then that at bantamweight, she was not at her best division.
But then, you know how it is in the SEA Games. Paramihan ng medalya lalo na ginto. Especially if you are host. The media and the fans cannot be faulted for passing over a perceived underachiever and/or a flat out loser. We are lost in the moment.
That Manila SEA Games could have triggered self realization to both Nesthy and Aira and fueled a fire of determination in them to prove the lukewarm public, especially their critics, wrong.
In Nesthy's case, to prove that her World championship feat and first SEA Games gold were no fluke. And she could achieve even bigger things with her talent and skills in the so called manly sport.
In Aira's case, to prove that she could be many times better and achieve higher honor and glory for her country with perseverance, determination and hard work.
What a big difference the succeeding five years have made for both Nesthy and Aira.
Nesthy as our first Olympics medal repeater. It was just Nesthy's luck that she faced a Japanese in the finals in Tokyo; an opponent riding the hope of Dai Nippon for a first woman Olympic champion. It could have been gold for Nesthy, who knows as early as 2021
Aira as our Cinderella Olympic achiever, a woman boxer very few, if any, expected to reach this far in Paris.
A toast to ABAP! Whatever you have done in transforming boxers as Nesthy and Aira as well as Eumir and Carlo, you have done a marvelous job!
Keep it up, ABAP
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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