NESTHY Petecio lost her opening round match against veteran Tassamalee Thongjan on Thailand, 3-6, in their featherweight showdown in women's boxing of the Third Asian Indoor Games.

The event was held Saturday at the Bac Ninh Gymnasium in Hanoi, Vietnam.

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Petecio, the 17-year-old boxing wonder from Davao City and is one the five-member Philippine lady boxing team competing in Vietnam, was behind early at 1-3 after the first round but came back strong in the third round only to see her rally falling short against her older and more experienced rival.

A victory over Thongjan would have assured Petecio of a brone medal. Aside from Petecio, the other lady boxers from the Philippines seeing action in the meet are Annie Albania, Alice Kate Aparri, Mitchell Martinez and Josie Gabuco.

It was an abrupt ending to Petecio's campaign in only her second international competition. Only recently, Petecio claimed a gold medal in Guam.

Despite the loss, Petecio is sure to become a future star in Philippine amateur boxing what with her potentials and big fighting heart.

Earlier, the Philippine boxing team also suffered a defeat when Aparri yielded to Jin Mei Lin of China, 5-8, in their flyweight clash.