By Adrian Stewart Co

Ilongga boxer Irish Magno had a solid Olympics debut as she defeated Kenyan Christine Ongare in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics women’s boxing round-of-32 yesterday at the Kokukigan Arena in Sumida City in Tokyo, Japan.

The Janiuay, Iloilo-native Magno had a clinical showing as she dominated the much aggressive Ongare in three rounds to get a 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 score from the three judges to advance to the round-of-16 on Thursday, July 29.

Nesthy Petecio also moved on to the next round of the women’s featherweight division after a unanimous decision victory over Congolese fighter Sakobi Matshu in the round-of-32 on Saturday, July 24.

Petecio had a slow start in the opening round before pouring it on Matshu in the next two rounds for a lopsided decision win. She will next face Li Yun-Ting of Chinese-Taipei in the round-of-16 today.

Filipino gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo, meanwhile, clinched a spot in the finals of the vault apparatus but has faltered in the floor exercise, the event where he is tipped to win a gold medal.

Yulo, who captured seven medals in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, placed sixth overall in vault with 17.712 points but struggled in his favorite floor exercise after ending up with 13.566 points, dropping him outside the top 40.

Yulo also missed the cut in the all-around finals after accumulating 79.931 total points for 47th place overall. He also registered a 14.000 in rings, 13.466 in parallel bars, 12.300-point routine in horizontal bar, and 11.833 points in pommel horse.

Filipina swimmer Remedy Alexis Rule fell short in the women’s 100-meter butterfly event, while taekwondo jin Kurt Barbosa suffered a lopsided 26-6 defeat at the hands of South Korean Jun Jang.

In other events for today, Cebuana Margielyn Didal competes in the women’s street skateboarding at 8:00 a.m., while Hidilyn Diaz will vie for a gold medal in the women’s 55 kg weightlifting at 6:50 p.m./ASC, WDJ