By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
CEBU CITY — Philippine junior records fell like dominoes at the start of the 1st ASEAN Youth Open Archery Championships on Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Dynamic Herb Sports Complex here.
Ada Lagrada bucked the sunny and windy conditions, posting 613 points in topping the qualification round of the women’s recurve under-21 division that obliterated the 582 which she registered only last January in Marikina.
“I’m excited to break that record again,” said Lagrada, a 19-year-old standout from Puerto Princesa.
“Earlier, the sun was directly to our eyes. It was hard to look at the target kasi nakakasilaw. Eventually, naging okay naman, kaso mas naging windy, so it was kind of challenging for all of us,” she added.
In all, 6 junior records were shattered for the day.
Jonathan Reaport also ruled the men’s recurve U21 with a record-setting performance of 639 points, eclipsing his own previous mark of 632 set last month in Ireland.
Hometown bet Aldrener Igot Jr. also made his presence felt in the men’s U18 with 646 points, breaking the old record of 631 set by Lawrence Enecio in January in Marikina.
“Unexpected po sakin na-break ko yung record kasi hindi ko nakukuha yung score na yun during practice,” said the 17-year-old Igot, who recently won a gold in the Palarong Pambansa in Marikina a few weeks ago.
Dumaguete City’s Naina Tagle, the most bemedalled athlete in the recent Palarong Pambansa, also shone in the women’s U18 with 639 points, surpassing the old mark of 614 set by Giuliana Garcia in January in Marikina.
In the compound qualification round, Alon Jucutan fired 683 points to top the U18 class and shattered the old mark of 673 set by Alon Jucutan last month in Ireland.
Gwyneth Garcia also smashed her old record of 645 set last month in Ireland when she posted 645 points in the U18 division.
