MANILA — Years of experience, thousands of arrows and one remarkable Asian Games run have earned Amaya Amparo Cojuangco a permanent place in Philippine archery history.
Cojuangco, 40, settled for silver in the women’s individual compound event Thursday after losing to Indonesia’s Nurisa Dian Ashrifah, 139-137, in the championship match Okazaki, Japan
But the result was hardly a disappointment for Philippine archery.
Cojuangco had already accomplished something no Filipino archer had done before at the Asian Games — reach the gold-medal match.
Her historic march began with a 146-135 quarterfinal victory over Iran’s Bita Asheghzadeh Oskouei.
She then produced an even tighter performance in the semifinals, edging South Korea’s Park Jungyoon, 142-141, to secure her place in the title duel.
That victory guaranteed the Philippines a medal and allowed Cojuangco to break new ground for the country.
She came within two points of doing exactly that.
Ashrifah prevailed in the final, but Cojuangco’s silver established a new benchmark for Philippine archery at the Asian Games.
The result also brought the country back onto the archery podium after a 12-year drought dating to Paul Marton Dela Cruz’s bronze-medal finish.
Cojuangco’s achievement carries added weight because it came from an athlete with a long international résumé. A veteran of the World Archery circuit, she has spent years representing the Philippines in major competitions and remains one of the country’s most experienced compound archers.
Her medal became the Philippines’ fourth silver and 19th overall in the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
The gold escaped her by two points.
History did not.
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