Philippines' Aira Villegas (in blue) punches Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki in the women's 50kg preliminaries round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on July 28, 2024. Mohd Rasfan, AFP

Philippines' Aira Villegas (in blue) punches Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki in the women's 50kg preliminaries round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on July 28, 2024. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/172297655631020240728-paris-olympics-boxing-villegas-AFP2024.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Philippines&#x27; Aira Villegas (in blue) punches Morocco&#x27;s Yasmine Mouttaki in the women&#x27;s 50kg preliminaries round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on July 28, 2024. Mohd Rasfan, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Philippines&#x27; Aira Villegas (in blue) punches Morocco&#x27;s Yasmine Mouttaki in the women&#x27;s 50kg preliminaries round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on July 28, 2024. <em>Mohd Rasfan, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>(<strong>UPDATED</strong>) In just her very first Olympics stint, Aira Villegas has already made history.</p><p>The Filipina boxer will be going home with a bronze medal after reaching the semifinals of the women&#x27;s 50kg division, where she lost via unanimous decision to Türkiye&#x27;s Buse Naz Çakıroğlu.</p><p>Çakıroğlu, the third-seed in the weight class, overwhelmed Villegas in their semis bout on Tuesday at the Roland-Garros Stadium (early Wednesday in Manila) to advance to the gold medal match, where she will be seeking to improve upon the silver medal that she won in the Tokyo Games.</p><p>Despite falling short of the gold medal, it is still a superb campaign for Villegas who is making her Summer Games debut. She adds to the Philippines&#x27; haul in Paris, after Carlos Yulo won two gold medals in men&#x27;s artistic gymnastics.</p><p>Villegas is only the second female boxer to win an Olympic medal for the Philippines, after Nesthy Petecio&#x27;s silver in the Tokyo Games. Petecio is also assured of a medal in Paris, having reached the semis of the 57kg division.</p><p>After winning her first three assignments in the Olympics, Villegas found few answers for Türkiye&#x27;s Çakıroğlu in the semis. </p><p>She was on the back foot almost immediately, and a standing eight-count in the first round put the Filipina behind on the scorecards, with one judge giving Çakıroğlu a 10-8 score. </p><p>Down in the cards after two rounds, Villegas ramped up the pressure in the third and landed some eye-catching punches, but Çakıroğlu was a step ahead and countered with her own shots, including a right uppercut that visibly knocked back Villegas head.</p><p>Çakıroğlu won all five scorecards, with scores of 30-27 three times and 30-26 twice. </p><p>Çakıroğlu will face China&#x27;s Wu Yu, the top-seed in the division, for the gold. Wu had beaten Kazakhstan&#x27;s Nazym Kyzaibay in their own semis match.</p><p>The 29-year-old Villegas assured herself of a medal when she stunned hometown bet Wassila Lkhadiri of France in the quarterfinals last Saturday, claiming a 3-2 split decision to silence the boisterous crowd at the North Paris Arena.</p><p>Before that, she defeated Algeria&#x27;s Roumaysa Boualam in the round-of-16 and Yasmine Mouttaki of Morroco in the round-of-32.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/8/1/aira-villegas-stuns-algerias-boualam-advances-to-qfinals-207">READ: Aira Villegas stuns Algeria&#x27;s Boualam, advances to q&#x27;finals</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/8/3/paris-2024-villegas-assured-of-medal-with-hard-earned-win-over-frances-lkhadiri-301">READ: Villegas assured of medal with hard-earned win over France&#x27;s Lkhadiri</a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TfDtBkJdogo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fu6Kh6W_TqA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>In just her very first Olympics stint, Aira Villegas has already made history.</p>

Paris 2024: Aira Villegas takes bronze after semis loss to Turkish foe | ABS-CBN

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Paris 2024: Aira Villegas takes bronze after semis loss to Turkish foe

Paris 2024: Aira Villegas takes bronze after semis loss to Turkish foe

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 07, 2024 04:47 AM PHT

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Updated Aug 07, 2024 05:20 AM PHT

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