Japan's Sena Irie celebrates after winning the first boxing gold medal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ©Getty Images

Japan’s Sena Irie became the first woman to be crowned Olympic champion in the featherweight division after overcoming Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines at the Olympics here in Tokyo.

The 20-year-old boxer won the fight by unanimous decision after using her jab to great affect as she secured the first boxing gold of Tokyo 2020.

There was little separating the two fighters after the first two rounds, but Irie stepped up when it mattered most to win over all five of the judges at the Kokugikan Arena - usually home to sumo wrestling.

It was also the first Olympic title to be awarded under the ruling of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Boxing Task Force.

The group, led by IOC member Morinari Watanabe, is overseeing the boxing competition at Tokyo 2020 after the International Boxing Association (AIBA) was stripped of the running of the event following the Rio 2016 judging scandal.

Irie caused Petecio plenty of early problems as she connected with a series of jabs and was rewarded by winning the opening round.

Petecio responded as she produced blows to the body before catching Irie with a punch to the face.

The Filipina boxer looked increasingly confident as she went on the front foot and won the second round, with four of the five judges ruling in her favour.

Sena Irie, right, overcame Nesthy Petecio, left, with a series of jabs in the women's featherweight final ©Getty Images
Sena Irie, right, overcame Nesthy Petecio, left, with a series of jabs in the women's featherweight final ©Getty Images

It was a tense and closely-fought contest but Irie upped the ante as Petecio fell to her knees before receiving a barrage of blows in the closing stages.

Irie jumped for joy after being awarded the victory by unanimous decision.

Petecio had to settle for silver, while Irma Testa of Italy and Karriss Artingstall of Britain were awarded bronze.

The IOC’s Boxing Task Force is running the boxing event at Tokyo 2020 after all 36 referees and judges at Rio 2016 were suspended following suspicious results.

AIBA has launched a fresh probe into this scandal which will be headed up by Richard McLaren.

New rules have already been introduced by the task force, with a computer system randomly selecting judges for bouts.

Five judges now score a contest instead of three, with their scores flashing up at the end of each round instead of at the end of the fight.

Watanabe, chairman of the Boxing Task Force, has claimed the Games will be a "turning point" for the sport.