Name it, she had it: Villegas shakes off various injuries en route to Olympic bronze

MANILA, Philippines – Aira Villegas had to box through injuries and pain on her way to bagging the bronze medal in the women’s flyweight class of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) secretary-general Marcus Jarwin Manalo bared at Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum how Villegas had to endure various injuries going to the Olympics and during the competition proper itself.

Villegas, 29, was bothered by a hurting knee, foot and shoulder. Name it and she had it.

“Ang dami (injuries), may shoulder tendinopathy, mild ACL sprain, compartment syndrome sa left foot,” Manalo mentioned one by one the health situation of Villegas, a condition that kept her from boxing in the ring for about a month before the Paris Games.

“Unang sabak niya sa sparring nandun na kami sa France (Metz training camp). And then yung actual sparring niya andun na kami sa Germany, two weeks na lang before the Olympics. Yun na yung actual sparring against some of the opponents na nakaharap niya rin dun (Paris).”

But daily rehab and the help provided by the ABAP support staff allowed Villegas to perform above expectations in her first ever Olympic stint.

“Big competition na ito so ang focus ko doon is to get a medal,” said Villegas, who was joined by her coach and Olympian Reynaldo Galido in the weekly session presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Smart/PLDT, and the leading sports entertainment gateway in the Philippines ArenaPlus.

The native of Tacloban won her first two bouts against Yasmine Moutaqui (Morocco) and Roumaysa Boualam (Algeria), the same boxer she sparred in Germany while still recovering from her injuries, to set up a quarterfinal clash with home bet Wassila Lkhadiri.

On the eve of the fight for a semifinals berth and a sure bronze, Galido personally talked to Villegas about how winning the bout would change her life forever.

“Sabi ko sa kanya, itong laban natin mabigat ito, hometown bet ang kalaban natin. Pero sabi ko huwag mong isipin yan, huwag mong isipin yung crowd. Kasi itong laban na ito ang makakapag-pabago sa buhay mo. Isipin mo yung mga magulang mo, mga kapatid mo,” recalled Galido of his conversation with his fighter.

Villegas beat the French boxer in a tightly-fought contest, 3-2, to give boxing its first medal in Paris. Unfortunately, she lost to a more experienced Buse Naz Cakuroglu of Turkey in the semifinals to end her drive of winning the gold.

Getting her feet finally wet in the highest competition in sports, the Filipina said there’s no stopping her now from achieving her ultimate goal.

“Aware akong bronze medalist ako, pero hindi ko pa rin siya maramdaman kasi yung utak ko and yung feeling ko, hindi ko pa nakukuha yung gold, so kailangan kong abutin pa yung goal ko,” she said despite boxing still in danger of missing out the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“Grateful pa rin ako sa lahat ng blessings, pero kailangan ko pa ring mag-trabaho para makamit ang goal ko,” vows Villegas.

With or without injury.