ON TARGET. A file photo of Jonathan Reaport taken during the Asia Cup Stage 1 in Phuket, Thailand last year. The Philippines will send eight recurve archers to South Korea next month for a five-day training camp. (Photo courtesy of Olympus Archery Club)
MANILA – The Philippines will send eight recurve archers to South Korea next month for a five-day training camp.
World Archery Philippines (WAP) secretary general Rosendo Sombrio said the invitation from the World Archery Asia joint training program is exclusive for the recurve team.
The invitation is for four athletes, including one reserve, in the men's and women's divisions.
The WAP evaluated the members of the national training pool from Oct. 8-9. The event was supervised by judges Nestor Bolusan (STI Goldtoe Range) and Heracleo Patrimonio (Upper East Bacolod).
The following are the 72-arrow qualification round scores of the eight athletes: Men's - Jonathan Reaport (648), Jason Emmanuel Feliciano (646), Riley Silos (608), Girvin Cullen Nigel Garcia (593); Women's - Gabrielle Monica Bidaure (636), Pia Elizabeth Angela Bidaure (610), Phoebe Nicole Amistoso (600) and Damariz Gabrielle Calera (540).
Sombrio, who also serves as national team head coach, will accompany the athletes together with men's coach Clint Sayo and developmental coach Niño Sinco.
The team will leave for South Korea on November 5 and will return to Manila on Nov. 12. The training will be held from Nov. 7-11 at the Wonju Archery Center in Gangwon-do Province.
Sombrio mentioned two more international tournaments for the recurve and compound teams.
"We are waiting for the invitation from Myanmar for the Southeast Asian Archery Championships in the first week of December and another invitation from Chinese Taipei before the year ends," he said.
Meanwhile, all archers are getting ready for the fourth and final leg of the Philippine Archery Cup set on Oct. 27-29 at the STI Gold Toe Archery Range in Marikina City.
Gabrielle Monica Bidaure and leading compound archer Andrea Lucia Robles both won two gold medals in the third leg hosted by Cebu City and Mandaue City from July 22 to 24.
Robles bagged the bronze medal in the Singapore Archery Open last month. She is the first Filpino to win a gold medal at the 2019 Indoor Archery World Series in Macau, China and to qualify for the Indoor Archery World Series Finals in Las Vegas, USA in 2020.
In the men's compound, Vietnam Southeast Asian Games mixed team silver medalist Paul Marton de la Cruz is expected to face a strong challenge from bronze medalist Flor Matan.
The Philippine Archery Cup will determine who will represent the country to the 2023 Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifier. (PNA)
