Aira Villegas
{{short description|Filipino boxer}}
{{Philippine name|Cordero|Villegas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox boxer
| name = Aira Villegas
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|OLY|size=100%}}
| image = PIA Leyte - Aira Villegas interview (cropped).jpg
| caption = Villegas in 2024
| real_name =
| nickname =
| weight class = Light Flyweight
| nationality = Filipino
| stance= Southpaw
| weight =
| height =
| reach =
| birth_date ={{birth date and age|1995|8|1}}
| birth_place = Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines
| style =
| boxrec = 869313
| total =
| wins =
| KO =
| losses =
| draws =
| no contests =
|show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Women's boxing}}
{{Medal|Country|the {{PHI}}}}
{{MedalCount|total=yes
|Summer Olympic Games|0|0|1
|Southeast Asian Games|0|0|1
}}
{{MedalComp|Olympic Games}}
{{MedalBronze|2024 Paris|Light Flyweight}}
{{MedalComp|Southeast Asian Games}}
{{MedalBronze|2019 Philippines|Bantamweight}}
}}
Aira Cordero Villegas {{post-nominals|OLY}} (born August 1, 1995) is a Filipino amateur boxer. She won a bronze medal in the inaugural women's Light Flyweight event at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Career
Villegas is a Southpaw hailing from Tacloban. She has competed in at least two editions of the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in the -52kg division.{{cite web |last1=Henson |first1=Joaquin |author1-link=Joaquin Henson |title=Aira lone rep in world tilt |url=https://www.philstar.com/sports/2022/05/04/2178521/aira-lone-rep-world-tilt|website=The Philippine Star|access-date=12 March 2024|date=4 May 2022}}
For the 2022 edition in Turkey, she was forced to move to the -50kg division after her previous class was scrapped.{{cite news |title=Villegas makes quarterfinals in women's world championships |url=https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/05/16/villegas-makes-quarterfinals-in-womens-world-championships/ |access-date=12 March 2024 |work=BusinessMirror |date=16 May 2022}}
In 2021, the Philippine Olympic Committee named Villegas as a beneficiary of the Olympics Solidarity Scholarship Grant by the International Olympic Committee.{{cite news |last1=Galvez |first1=Waylon |title=Catantan, Ando part of new group of athletes under IOC program |url=https://mb.com.ph/2021/9/10/catantan-ando-part-of-new-group-of-athletes-under-ioc-program |access-date=12 March 2024 |work=Manila Bulletin |date=10 September 2021}}
She has also competed at the 2022 Asian Games which was held in September 2023 in Hangzhou, China.{{cite news |title=Aira Villegas bows to Mongolian foe in Asian Games |url=https://www.onesports.ph/asian-games/article/15533/aira-villegas-bows-to-mongolian-foe-in-women-s-boxing-50-kg-in-asian-games |access-date=12 March 2024 |work=One Sport |date=24 September 2023 |language=en}} Villegas is also a Southeast Asian Games medalist, having won a bronze in the 2019 edition organized in the Philippines.{{cite news |title=Gabuco, Paalam, Marcial advance to SEAG boxing finals |url=https://tiebreakertimes.com.ph/tbt/gabuco-paalam-marcial-advance-seag-boxing-finals/172977 |access-date=12 March 2024 |work=Tiebreaker Times |date=6 December 2019}}
Villegas would qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, by winning the quota bouts round, of the women's flyweight division, at the 2024 World Olympic Qualification Tournament 1 in Busto Arsizio, Italy.{{cite web|url=https://olympics.com/en/news/boxing-1st-world-qualification-tournament-busto-arsizio-quotas|title=Boxing 1st World Qualification Tournament - Busto Arsizio: Which boxers have obtained quotas for Paris 2024?|publisher=Olympics|date=11 March 2024|accessdate=12 March 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Valderrama |first1=Aeron Paul |title=Road to Paris: Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas clinch Olympic berths in Busto Arsizio |url=https://tiebreakertimes.com.ph/tbt/road-to-paris-nesthy-petecio-aira-villegas-clinch-olympic-berths-in-busto-arsizio/296798 |access-date=12 March 2024 |work=Tiebreaker Times |date=12 March 2024}}
Summer Olympics
Light flyweight (50 kg) Olympic qualification
- Defeated Mckenzie Wright (Canada) PTS 3-2
- Defeated Sofie Rosshaug (Denmark) UD 5-0
- Defeated Zlatislava Chukanova (Bulgaria) UD 5-0
2024 Summer Olympics results
- Defeated Yasmine Mouttaki (Morocco) UD 5-0
- Defeated Roumaysa Boualam (Algeria) UD 5-0
- Defeated Wassila Lkhadiri (France) SD 3-2
- Lost to Buse Naz Çakıroğlu (Turkey) UD 5-0 (claim bronze medal)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{BoxRec|869313}}
- {{Olympics.com|aira-villegas}}
- [https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/aira-villegas_1979870 Aira Villegas] at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villegas, Aira}}
Category:Filipino women boxers
Category:Competitors at the 2015 SEA Games
Category:Competitors at the 2017 SEA Games
Category:Competitors at the 2019 SEA Games
Category:Asian Games competitors for the Philippines
Category:SEA Games bronze medalists for the Philippines
Category:SEA Games medalists in boxing
Category:Boxers at the 2022 Asian Games
Category:Boxers at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic boxers for the Philippines
Category:Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics