00:00At the same time, on her day in the 2024 Paris Olympics,
00:04Ira Villegas won to advance to the quarterfinals.
00:09That's just one of the many celebrations in the games
00:13where sportsmanship,
00:16determination, and fulfilling dreams of any age are celebrated.
00:21Live from Paris, France,
00:23we're joined by JP Soriano.
00:26JP?
00:30Mel, kapuso, it's only 1.19 p.m. here in Paris, France,
00:35and we're in front of the Olympic Village
00:37where the athletes who qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics
00:42are staying,
00:44and they're getting closer to a possible podium finish
00:48and a medal.
00:49Our Filipino boxers, the latest among them
00:53is Ira Villegas, who won a ticket to the quarterfinals
00:57on her birthday, Mel.
00:59And this Olympics, Mel, kapuso,
01:01is not just a story of the hard work of our Filipino athletes,
01:05but also a story of inspiration
01:07and viral athletes here at the Olympics.
01:14As soon as she entered the boxing ring,
01:16Ira Villegas' 29th birthday wish was already clear.
01:20Take it!
01:21In the next round of the 50kg division,
01:23she was forced to reach solid punches.
01:26In just round one, she already won the scorecard.
01:30While she was close to round two,
01:32and when it came to the third round,
01:34the Filipino fans were already cheering in the North Paris Arena.
01:39Ira was the one who put it all together.
01:41In truth, it was a big celebration of sportsmanship
01:45and brotherhood, the Olympics.
01:48This year, it was a tribute to the table tennis players
01:52of North and South Korea
01:55who were given the opportunity to play
01:57and take a selfie at the awarding ceremony,
02:00even from countries that have been separated
02:04and separated for almost 80 years.
02:06This game also fulfilled the Olympic dream
02:10of the 58-year-old Chilean table tennis player,
02:13Zeng Jiying, a former member of the China national team
02:17who opened her dreams 40 years ago
02:20before migrating to Chile.
02:22In returning to sports, she reunited
02:25with her 61-year-old teammate, Nick Sialian,
02:28who is currently in Luxembourg.
02:31The nonchalant and O.A. target shooters of the Olympics
02:34were also joking around.
02:38But the two silver medalists,
02:42the Turkish, Yusuf Dikic,
02:44who is known for his simple and unadorned form,
02:46were also impressed.
02:51And the South Korean, Kim Yeji,
02:54who is complete in her eyewear and shooting gears.
02:59In this Olympics,
03:01it was literally proven by the Egyptian fencer,
03:03Nadha Hafez,
03:05that she can compete in sports for seven months
03:09if guided, of course, by medical experts.
03:13Off Paris, in the faraway Tahiti,
03:15the venue of Surfing for this Olympics,
03:19the iconic of this picture,
03:21the Brazilian, Gabriel Medina,
03:24and his surfboard,
03:25floating in the air.
03:33And Mel, you know, our Filipino athletes
03:35are inspired by the stories of other athletes
03:38from different parts of the world
03:40who are here in the Paris Olympics.
03:42And sadly, the Olympic journey here in Paris
03:47is not over yet.
03:49We are still waiting for Gerald Hatch
03:51to finish 36th place
03:53in the 100-meter butterfly preliminary round.
03:55But later at 8 p.m.
03:57or early in the morning in the Philippines,
03:59Tokyo Olympic silver medallist,
04:01Nesty Petetio,
04:03will fight again
04:05to continue his efforts
04:07to win the hope here
04:09in the Paris Olympics.
04:11And live from the Olympic Village
04:13in Paris, France,
04:16and as part of the Philippine Olympic Committee Media,
04:18back to you, Mel.
04:20Thank you very much, JP Soriano.
