(UPDATED) Filipina Olympian Aira Villegas fell short of the Philippines' first gold medal in boxing in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, Friday at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Center in Bangkok, Thailand.
Villegas dropped a unanimous decision to Thailand's Chuthamat Raksat to settle for the silver medal in the women's flyweight division (50kg).
The Filipina got off to an aggressive start but could not sustain it, with Raksat eventually landing the clearer punches.
All five judges scored the fight in favor of Raksat, who is one of 16 Thai boxers competing in gold medal matches on the final day of competition.
"Well, hindi po binigay ni God, so marami pa akong kulang, sobrang dami pa," said Villegas after her bout. "Ginawa ko po 'yung best ko and 'yung sinasabi po ng coaches ko, although marami pa rin po talagang kulang tsaka marami pong dapat pag-aralan."
"In the future competitions, more improvement po," she added.
This is Villegas' second SEA Games medal, after a bronze in the 2019 SEA Games at home, where she competed at bantamweight.
In the 2024 Paris Olympics, Villegas won a bronze while fighting at the light-flyweight division.
Three other Filipinos will vie for gold medals: Eumir Marcial, Flint Jara, and Jay Brian Baricuatro.