MANILA, March 12 -- Boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas will be going to Paris this July following their impressive performances at the 1st World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy, on Tuesday.

Petecio beat Turkiye's Esra Yildiz, 4-1, in the semifinal of the women's 57kg category to earn a return trip to the Olympics after winning the silver medal in Tokyo.

"I am so blessed. This is very important for me because maybe this is my last Olympics,'' said Petecio in an interview with olympics.com.

"I got this ticket for so many people, especially my family, to God, and for our former President who died (past Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines president Ed Picson), and for my partner in life. Before (the tou...