Olympic bronze for Aira Villegas as Turkish foe dominates semis bout

MANILA, Philippines – Falling prey at the hands of a more experienced and decorated foe, Filipina boxer Aira Villegas wrapped up her Paris Olympics run with a bronze.

Villegas’ golden bid saw its end as she absorbed a unanimous decision loss to Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu in the women’s 50kg semifinals at the Roland Garros Stadium on Tuesday, August 6 (Wednesday, August 7, Manila time).

A former world champion seeking to get the job done this time after settling for silver in the Tokyo Olympics, Cakiroglu proved too much for Villegas and won convincingly by scores of 30-26, 30-26, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.

The puzzle that Cakiroglu posed remained unsolvable for Villegas, who also lost to the Turkish by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. – Rappler.com