FRESH off a breakthrough performance that saw veteran archer Amaya Paz-Cojuangco end a 12-year medal drought at the Asian Games, national archers have set their sights on qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Cojuangco finished with a silver medal and was two points away from gold in the women’s compound individual final after falling to Indonesia’s Nurisa Dian Ashrifah, 139-137, at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Japan.
That milestone ended a 12-year medal drought since Paul Marton dela Cruz won bronze in the men’s individual compound event at the 2014 Incheon Games.
The Philippines aims to build on this momentum by qualifying a Filipino mixed compound team for the 2028 Olympics.
Youth standout
Cojuangco will team up with Mateusz Vaughn Johnson, an 18-year-old prospect from Davao City. Johnson recently won three individual gold medals and the U18 compound men’s championship at the Singapore Youth Archery Championships.
The path to Los Angeles will take the Filipino archers through a demanding global qualifying circuit that begins in Shanghai, China, for the opening of the 2027 Hyundai Archery World Cup in mid-April.
Following the Shanghai leg, the team will compete in Antalya, Turkey in early May before heading to Tijuana, Mexico in June and Madrid, Spain in July.
“Hopefully we can make it to LA. We will try to qualify either through the Olympic qualifiers or ranking points through these tournaments,” Cojuangco said in a press release. / RSC
