Thursday, August 14, 2008 Pinoy archer loses to Taiwanese
FILIPINO archer Mark Javier missed the mark and lost to Chinese-Taipei’s Kuo Cheng Wei, 102-106, in the Round of 32 of the 29th Olympics Games at the Green Archery Field in Beijing, China.
With the sad setback to the formidable and more seasoned Kuo in the men’s 70-meter knockout phase, the 27-year-old Javier of Dumaguete City, bowed out of contention in his first Olympic stint and joined four others in the sidelines just five days into the quadrennial Games.
The 25-year-old Kuo, a 205-pound bachelor from Taipei, hit two straight bulls eye worth 10 points each in the 11th and 12th arrows of the fourth and final frame that practically ended Javier’s hope of making it into the quarterfinals round.
“It’s an experience like no other. Kahit na natalo ako, nakakuha ako ng magandang experience. Like playing in front of a big crowd,” said Javier, a graduate of Siliman University.
Javier has a lot of praises to his Taiwanese opponent.
“He is a very good archer. He’s young with a lot of tournament victories already,” said Javier of Kuo,
The score was tied at 86-all after 10 arrows when the Taiwanese fired two bullseye in the 11th and 12th arrows compared to Javier’s pair of 8s in the 30-minute face-off.
Grandson
“Kakaiba pala ito. Iba talaga ang feeling specially if you’re shooting in front of so many people. Dito palakasan ng loob. Ngayon ko naramdaman,” said Javier who used a 44-pound red bow in the competition.
Meanwhile, Daniel Coakley, the great grandson of the late Teofilo Yldefonso, will see action today in the ninth of 13 heats in the men’s 50-meter freestyle of the swimming competition of the 29th Olympic Games at the Water Cube in Beijing, China.
Yldefonso is one of the Filipino greatest swimmers who gave the country two of its seven bronze medals after finishing third place in the 1928 Games and 1932 Olympiad.
But Coakley’s chances of making the 16-man semifinals is very slim considering that he will face a tougher opposition that includes world record holder Eamon Sullivan of Australia, who remains the man to beat in the shortest event in the National Aquatic Center.
“He has a strong commitment to give his best for the country. He loves to race and compete. So we will see him do well,” said Philippine Amateur Swimming Association president Mark Joseph.
“The competitions will energize him. Hindi marunong umatras ang bata,” Joseph said of the boy, who grew in a small Hawaiian town of only about 1,500 people.
Coakley, 18, whose father is a lifeguard in a sun-heated pool, will be competing against Kenya’sDavid Dunford, Bulgaria’s Andrei Radzionau, Li Cai of China, Camilo Becerra o f Colombia, Estonia’s Miko Malberg and Italy’s Alessandro Calvi, who have a time of 22.63 or better. (FCC)
