By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Filipino archers hope to catch the last bus to the 2024 Paris Olympics when they compete in the Final World Qualification starting on June 14 to 17 in Antalya, Turkey.
The Philippine team left early this week with hopes of joining the 15 Filipinos who have already earned berths in various sports after failing to qualify in the previous two editions of the Olympics.
Sisters Pia and Gabrielle Bidaure banner the five-player crew that also has Jason Feliciano, Renian Keith Nawew and Jonathan Reaport.
The Bidaure sisters hoped that their three-weeking training camp in South Korea, as well as their stints at the Yecheon World Cup and the Asia Cup, would pay off.
The trio of Feliciano, Nawew and Reaport, meanwhile, trained in Manila.
The last time a Filipino archer made it to the Olympics was in the 2012 London edition courtesy of Rachel Cabral Dela Cruz and Mark Javier.
Three individual tickets for male and four for female are up for grabs in the tournament, with a total of three and four quota places are also at stake in the team event.
So far, archers from Indonesia, China, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei, India, Japan, Malaysia and Uzbekistan have earned individual berths to Paris.
The Filipinos missed their chance at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year where it offered two slots in each gender, with Feliciano becoming the highest-placed Filipino in the men’s side at 18th place, followed by Reaport at 38th.
Gabrielle, meanwhile, finished 48th in the distaff side, while Pia settled for 65th.
Meanwhile, compound archers Amaya Cojuangco, Andrea Robles, Andrei Johann Olano, Paul Marton Dela Cruz and Alon Yuan Jucutan are also competing in the World Cup Stage 3 slated June 18 to 23 also in Antalya.
