After defeating Philippines’s Nesthy Petecio, Sena Irie writes history as she becomes the first Japanese woman to win Olympic boxing gold on Tuesday. As for Petecio, it is disappointing as she was looking forward to winning the first gold in Olympic boxing.
The scorecards clearly show the 20-year-old ahead just after the first round. Both the champions were playing on Japan’s national sport sumo, Kokugika Arena. The 2nd round was in the favour of the 29-year-old Petecio, while the last round was really competitive.
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But the judges gave a nod to Irie and she was crying keeping her hand on her mouth. The Phillippines are still to face another Japanese competitor, Ryomei Tanaka, on Thursday in the men’s flyweight semi-finals.
Born in Yonago, Japan, Sena took up sports in 2008 and was inspired by a Japanese cartoon series; she has received Excellence Award from Japan Amateur Boxing Federation, and was also titled as Female Rookie of the year.
She was ranked 5th in the 2019 Asian Championship and in 2019 in World Championships. In 2017 and 2018 she was ranked 3rd in World Youth Championships. Her nickname is Irie Wani (crocodile), she is a student and likes watching videos.
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In the quarter-finals of Paalam, had defeated Uzbekistan’s Shakhobidin Zorirov and now guarantees at least a bronze medal.