 |
| Aya Cojuangco finally gave the Philippines a silver in the Asian Games archery event. POC Media Pool |
NAGOYA—Longtime national team mainstay Aya Cojuangco has officially etched her name into the annals of Philippine sports history, capturing a landmark silver medal in the women’s individual compound archery finals at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square.
A seasoned veteran who has proudly carried the flag for years, Cojuangco delivered the greatest performance by a Filipino archer on the continental stage, becoming the first from the Philippines to ever reach an Asian Games gold medal match.
Her silver finish surpasses the country's previous best Asian Games compound result—a bronze medal won by Paul Marton Dela Cruz 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.
In the gold medal showdown against Indonesia's Nurisa Dian Ashrifah, the Filipina veteran fought tooth and nail down to the final arrow.
Cojuangco matched Ashrifah with a 28-all opening end and even took the third end, 29-29, before ultimately falling just two points shy in a razor-close 137-139 battle.
