Beijing Games veteran heads archers quest

VIENTIANE – Olympian Mark Javier tries to carry the load for the national archers hoping to win a gold medal without topnotch archer Amaya Paz when the competitions start today at the outdoor archery range of the National Sports Complex.

Javier, who failed to make it past the first round in his Olympic appearance in Beijing last year, competes in the 90m recurve, while Jennifer Chan and Abbigail Tindugan vie in the women’s individual compound.

Earl Yap, Rosendo Sombrio and Fermin Barranachea compete in the men’s individual compound in the afternoon.

Paz, the golden girl in the 2005 SEA Games in Manila, begged off from the SEA Games as her family is still recovering from the devastation caused by tropical storm “Ondoy”.

“She was devastated with what happened,” said team manager Terry Lim, referring to the UP Diliman psychology student, who took the gold in the women’s individual compound and led the women’s team to the gold in team competition in the 2007 SEA Games.

“Definitely her absence is a big loss, especially for the team,” Lim added.

Still, Lim expressed confidence the team could win two gold medals here.

“Our team is focused on the job at hand. We have a fighting women’s team. Our advantage is we arrived here earlier because we got the chance to acclimatize with the range, with the climate, with the food – everything,” said Lim.

Malaysia, Myanmar and Indonesia loom as the biggest threats to the Filipinos’ bid.

 “Myanmar is currently peaking while Malaysia and Indonesia are among the best in the world,” he added.