Irish Magno advances to Round of 16 after beating Kenyan foe

Published July 25, 2021 10:40am

Philippines' Irish Magno celebrates after winning against Kenya's Christine Ongare at the end of their women's fly (48-51kg) preliminaries boxing match during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo on July 25, 2021. Luis ROBAYO / POOL / AFP

Irish Magno put up a masterful fight in her Olympic debut.

The Filipina boxer outclassed Christine Ongare of Kenya via a unanimous decision in the Round of 32 of the women's flyweight division of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics boxing tournament Sunday morning.

She scored a 30-27 on four of the five judges' scorecards, winning all three rounds. The other judge gave it to her, 30-26, after scoring the third round as a 10-8 round.

Magno, a silver medalist in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, will return to the ring on Thursday, July 29, for the Round of 16.

She will face Thailand's Jutamas Jitpong, who defeated Algeria's Roumaysa Boualam in a unanimous decision on the same day. She won 30-27 on two judges' cards and 29-28 on the other three.

Meanwhile, another Filipina fighter in Nesthy Petecio had made her way to the Round of 16 after a unanimous decision win over Democratic Republic of Congo's Sakobi Matshu Marcelat on Saturday.

—Bea Micaller/GMA News

Tags: 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Philippines at the Tokyo Olympics, Irish Magno