Villegas says Olympic gold is ultimate birthday wish

MANILA, Philippines — Birthday girl Aira Villegas had the first part of her wish granted.

Now, on to the next one.

Following a big upset win by Villegas early Friday morning (Manila time) over Algeria’s Roumaysa Boualam, the Filipina boxer is setting her sights on a bigger prize -- an Olympic medal in Paris.

Boualam, a two-time African champion and two-time African Games gold medalist, was seeded second in the women’s 50kg division.

The victory led Villegas to the quarterfinal round.

“Natupad naman na rin po ang unang [wish] pero siyempre po, ang pinaka-wish ko is makauwi tayo ng medalya,” the 29-year-old said in an interview posted by One Sports.

The Olympic debutante was quick and on her toes the entire bout, connecting on clean punches as she got the nod of all five judges.

Meanwhile, Villegas added that while it was important to have confidence, she stressed the need to keep her emotions in check.

“Napaka-importante [ang kumpiyansa,] pero siyempre mas okay pa rin po na nasa focus tayo,” she said.

“Mahirap po yung kumpiyansa lang tayo e kasi maraming pwedeng mangyari bawat segundo sa laban.”

In the quarterfinals, the Filipina pug will face hometown bet Wassila Lkhadiri.

Their match will be on Sunday, 3:20 a.m. (Manila time).