Courtesy: POC Media
NAGOYA, Japan – Veteran archer Amaya Cojuangco claimed a landmark Asian Games silver medal, the highest ever by the Philippine archery team in the history of the quadrennial event.
The longtime national team mainstay ended a 12-year medal drought for the Philippines after losing a razor-thin 137-139 battle against Indonesia’s Nurisa Dian Ashrifah in the women’s individual compound final on Thursday at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square.
The Filipina fought tooth and nail down to the final arrow, leveling with Ashrifah at 110 points at the end of the fourth round.
Both archers scored nine points apiece on their first arrow in the ultimate round, but Ashrifah hit a bullseye and followed it with a 10 on her last two arrows to put away Cojuangco, who could only score nine in her last two shots.
Despite the defeat, Cojuangco became the first national archer to reach a gold medal match in the Asiad archery competition.
Her silver finish also surpassed the country’s previous best result—a bronze medal won by Paul Marton Dela Cruz in the men’s individual compound back in 2014.
Cojuangco’s path to the podium was nothing short of spectacular. In the quarterfinals, she dominated Iran’s Bita Asheghzadeh Oskouei, 146-135, firing three perfect 30-point ends in the second, third, and fifth games.
She followed that up with a massive, nerve-wracking 142-141 semifinal upset over South Korean powerhouse Park Jungyoon to book her historic finals berth.
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