Archery trio shoots for Paris berth

Sisters Gabrielle Monica and Pia Bidaure and Phoebe Amistoso will try to get Team Philippines in archery of the 2024 Paris Olympics as the country’s women’s recurve squad takes part in tough-as-nails qualifying events starting with the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, in July.

The 20-year-old Gabrielle Monica delivered the gold medal-winning shot in the 2022 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam last year, and the squad will have to take a breather in this year’s edition with Cambodia scratching the event.

That leaves the team focused on the Asian Games, which will be held in Hangzhou, China, from Sept. 23 to Oct.8. The trio can also earn points there as well, before it goes to the Asian Championship in November in Bangkok, Thailand.

Last olympians

The universality principle where World Archery will reward spots to countries of its choice can also be a way for the Philippines to qualify for the Paris Games.

Two-time Olympian Mark Javier and Rachelle Anne Cabral were the last batch of archers who made it to the Olympics back in 2012 London.

The younger Bidaure was the most consistent with her bow last year, where she easily attained the Olympic minimum qualification standard of 610 points in all four tournaments.

Gabrielle Monica topped the three Philippine Archery Cups with scores of 620, 631 and 621 before proving her worth again in the Philippine National Archery Championships on Oct. 30 after shooting 628 in the 72-arrow event at the Olympic distance of 70 meters. INQ