Ousted Jasmin leads cheerers for RP archers

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — From top archer to number one cheerleader.

Relegated to the background after suffering a heartrending loss at the hands of her Indonesian rival, Rina Dewi Puspita Sari, Jasmin Figueroa is back. Not with her bows and arrows to do battle with her conquerors but to cheer for the surviving Filipino archers waging a war against tough competitors in archery in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games at the Remy Football Field.

Figueroa, who until Friday was the country’s top medal prospect in archery owing to her upset win over former world champion Natalia Valeeva in the Athens Olympics, showed no ill-effects or nary a trace on that bitter setback to Sari, shouting herself hoarse on the sidelines to boost the morale of her teammates.

"I’m happy now. I have forgotten it already," she said, referring to that 96-95 squeaker which broke the hearts of her throng of fans.

She admitted being ill-at-ease before the duel with Sari. I was a bit pressured," said Jasmin, who quit school at the University of Makati on her junior year as PE major.

Actually, Jasmin said, it was the second time Sari took the measure of her. In the 2003 Vietnam Games, the Indonesian also beat her in another cliffhanger, 100-99, contrary to reports that she won.

What happened then was exactly the same as what happened yesterday," she recalled.

Leonora Brawner, president of the National Archery Association of the Philippines (NAAP), told The STAR that high expectations, more than the pressure of beating her foe, did Figueroa in.

"The expectations are just too much for her to bear," she said, of Jasmin who until Friday was on top of the world, owing to her splendid showing against Valeeva.

Lawyer Ruperto Sampoleo, shooting director for archery, observed that not only Figueroa but other senior Pinoy archers feel the pressure of the competitions. He cited the case of Marvin Marcelo who fell to a Malaysian archer who was a first-time campaigner in the SEA Games.

"The senior archers are under pressure. They have every thing to lose unlike the newcomers who have nothing to lose," he said. — Manny Galvez