Aira Villegas' first Olympics journey is a fruitful one despite ending with a loss as she takes home a bronze medal from Paris 2024.
Aira Villegas’ first Olympics stint ended with a tough semifinals loss to Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu.
But even as she was so close to the gold medal only to come up short, Villegas is taking her loss in stride as she still takes home a medal for her efforts in Paris 2024.
It’s a different color, but a bronze medal as an Olympic first-timer is still quite the achievement.
“Hindi naman po ako super disappointed, kasi ginawa ko yung best ko,” Villegas said.
“Magaling talaga [Cakiroglu], aminado ako magaling talaga. Pero for me, nagawa ko yung best ko. Sa lahat ng Pilipino na napuyat, sorry. Nakapag-uwi po ako ng medal, sana proud pa rin kayo sakin,” she added.
Reflecting on her maiden journey to the Olympics, Villegas says she is proud of herself, both in her younger version that grinded it out to make it to Paris and for her future self that will continue to work.
Like most Olympians, her ultimate dream is to not merely be on the podium, but to stand on top of it.
“Sa younger self ko I know that you are already proud of me,” Villegas said.
“To my future self, mas lalo ka pa magiging proud. Gagawin ko [ang lahat] na yung pangarap ko na bago man lang mag-retire sa boxing, patutugan ako ng national anthem ng bansa natin sa Olympics.”
(With reports from Carlo Pamintuan/Cignal)