Benguet pride Agustina Bantiloc bagged her second bronze medal in the Asian Para Archery Championships with a close win over Thailand bet late Thursday night in Bangkok, Thailand.
Bantiloc posted a two-point victory, 133-131, over Thailand’s Phannibham Strathongmaew in the women’s compound event to emerge as the Philippines’ best producer in the tournament that serves as a qualifier for Asian para-archers for the Paris Paralympics 2024.
The 55-year-old wheelchaired athlete from Baguio barely missed one of two automatic paralympic slots offered to the two top finishers in the tournament.
Bantiloc teamed up with Marzel Burgos two days earlier to beat Korea for the bronze in the compound open mixed team event.
“We may not have obtained a slot for the paralympic quota here in Thailand, but the close match of the games tells me that our Para-archers have what it takes to attain greater heights in the field of para-archery,” said national coach Jonathan Josol.
After disposing of Lee Yun-Hsien of Chinese Taipei, 133-124, Bantiloc barely missed the finals with a one-point defeat, 136-137, to Ferelly Teodora Audi Ayudia of Indonesia, in their semifinal encounter.
Burgos, who was also bidding for a double-medal finish after a 143-136 win over Uzbekistan’s Ubaydulla Imomkulov, 143-136, in the round of 32, but was stopped on her tracks by Chuen Ngai Ku of Hong Kong, 127-140, in the quarters.
Other Filipino bets Angelo Manangdang and Arthur Azcuna bowed to their Korean and Thailand rivals, respectively, in the round of 32. Giovanni Magaway also fell right in the first round.