The Philippines is set to win several medals after getting a gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with several players on track for the country’s best performance in almost nine decades. The medals mark a rare feat that the country will accomplish for the first time since 1932.
Recently, Hidilyn Diaz became the first Filipino to win the country’s first-ever gold after winning in the women’s 55-kg division of weightlifting. Earlier today Nesthy Petecio also scored a unanimous decision victory over Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda of Colombia to enter the semifinal round of the women’s featherweight tournament to get at least a bronze medal finish.
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Petecio is set to become the first Filipino boxer to win a medal since Mansueto ‘Onyok’ Velasco won a silver in the 1996 Atlanta Games while more medals could possibly be won by the Philippines as 10 athletes are set for action in the following days.
This marks a break from the underperformance of the athletes in the earlier editions of the Olympics. In 1932, a similar feat was achieved with three Filipinos winning the medal in the 1932 edition of the quadrennial meet in the United States.
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Swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso had won a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke event at the 1932 Games and before that Ilocano Shark’, had won bronze in the 1928 games. The athletics champion Simeon Toribio who had taken part in the 1928, 1932, and 1936 editions of the quadrennial meet had won the medal came in second stint in 1932.
Boxer Jose Villanueva also captured a bronze medal in the bantamweight and won against Joseph Lang the same year. (AW)
