BAGUIO CITY – The three female boxers who will see action in the Asia-Oceana qualifier to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are expected to fly to Thailand for their training after the qualifier was postponed when Wuhan, China begged off as host due to the novel Coronavirus (nCoV) that saw the Chinese City locked down.
“I still do not know when are we leaving but we were told to prepare for Thailand soon,” International Boxing Association (IBA) and Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) gold medalist Nesthy Petecio said on Friday during the Baguio City hosted sports consultation at the Hotel Supreme here.
But Petecio, Irish Magno, both from the University of Baguio (UB), and Hergie Bayacdan still continue to train and just finished sparring with Australian boxers who came to the city to improve the three Filipinas’ skills.
“Tuloy pa rin ang ensayo, hanggat sabihin sa amin to go (Our training continues until we are told to go),” Petecio said.
The Tokyo 2020 qualifier was recently moved to Amman, Jordan after the closure of the Chinese city.
Originally slated on Feb. 3 until 14, the event will be staged on March 3-11 in the Jordan capital following the cancelation decision of the Olympic Chinese Committee and the Boxing Federation Task Force due to the nCoV scare.
The Philippines also expressed its desire to host the event, but the BTF chose Jordan, which also submitted a proposal to host the event.
Petecio earlier said she was ready to go to Wuhan despite the scare, saying she is a “soldier” ready to be deployed anytime.
She will see action in the 57-kilogram division, while Magno will compete in the 51-kg. division and Bayacdan is enlisted in the 57-kg. class.
The men’s team is currently training in Thailand. (PNA)
