Juvic Pagunsan (file photo)
Juvic Pagunsan, for years the top male pro golfer in the land, officially became the 13th Filipino who will see action in the Tokyo Olympics, gaining entry on the strength of being the 50th ranked player in the world.
The 43-year-old from Bacolod has been campaigning in the Japan Tour for the last decade and will feel very much at home in the Games. He won the Mizuno Open less than a month back to underscore the fine form he is in of late.
Yuka Saso, the reigning US Women’s Open champ who is ninth in the world, and the 42nd ranked Bianca Pagdanganan will be in the women’s field as the Games accepts the top 60 players in the world for both divisions.
Miguel Tabuena represented the Philippines in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro where golf was revived in the Olympics after more than 100 years. Tabuena finished 53rd overall.
Pagunsan joins Rio weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz, world champion gymnast Carlos Yulo, pole vaulter EJ Obiena and boxers Eumir Marcial, Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio and Irish Magno.
Also part of the Philippine delegation are Asian skateboarding champion Margielyn Didal, taekwondo Jin Kurt Barbosa, rower Cris Nievarez, shooter Jayson Valdez and another weightlifter in Elreen Ando.
Short of target
Meanwhile, archer Gabrielle Monica Bidaure didn’t have the same luck after narrowly losing to five-time Olympian Evangelia Psarra of Greece, 26-24, 23-26, 25-23, 25-24, in the World Archery Final Olympic Qualification’s women’s recurve round-of-eight.
The loss snuffed Bidaure’s Olympic dream, but she will go home wealthy with experience following a fantastic run in the Olympic rounds of the Paris qualifier.
Jason Feliciano’s Olympic aspirations fizzled out after falling to Sri Lanka’s Sajeev De Silva, 28-26, 29-27, 26-29, 29-27, in the men’s recurve while Riley Silos, who likewise hurdled his first-round assignment, failed to get past Ukraine’s Heorhiy Ivanytskyy, 28-23, 29-25, 27-26, also in the round of 24.
Seeded 36th after the ranking rounds, Bidaure toppled 29th seed Mahanaz Akter Monera of Bangladesh, 24-24, 27-27, 27-23, 27-20, in the round of 24 and defeated No. 4 Asel Sharbekova of Kyrgyztan, 25-29, 25-29, 28-27, 23-21, 28-26 in the round of 16.
All is not lost for the Filipino archers, though, with World Archery dangling four invitational spots—two for men and another pair for women. INQ