AFTER the successful hosting of the 1st Asean Youth Archery Championships in Cebu City recently, World Archery of the Philippines secretary general Dondon Sombrio is eyeing to stage the inaugural Asian Youth Archery Championships next year.
“We have learned our lessons from conducting the Asean Youth meet and now believe we can host a bigger tournament by staging the first Asian Youth Archery Championships next year,” said Sombrio, who aims to submit WAP’s bid during the World Archery Asia Congress in Bangkok, Thailand in November.
The meeting will coincide with the staging of the Asian Archery Championships and Asian Olympic archery qualifiers from Nov. 3 to 10 in the Thai capital.
Sombrio will have two influential continental advocates in his bid in Thailand’s Sanguan Kosavinta, Southeast Asia Archery Federation president, and Dr. Sungho Um, former World Archery Asia secretary general, of South Korea.
Both officials witnessed the smooth hosting of the Asean youth meet organized by the WAP at the Dynamic Herb Sports Complex that drew close to 300 archers from Chinese-Taipei, India, Indonesia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines.
“Hosting the Asean Youth Archery Championships has always been a dream of Dondon. The way he conducted the competition that he organized in Cebu City leaves no reason for me not to support him in his bid during the World Archery Asia Congress in Bangkok,” Um said.
Kosavinta echoed the sentiments of his South Korean colleague, saying: “We recognize the competence and ability of Sombrio to organize international competitions that we witnessed in Cebu city.
“We will support him in his bid to stage the first Asian Youth Archery Championships during our Congress in Bangkok in November. We are certain it will be a success like the Asean Youth meet we witnessed.”
WAP president Atty. Clint Aranas said staging more international youth tournaments is the only way aspiring archers in Asia can gain experience and hone their skills so they can excel in the world stage.
“We need to start them young so that by the time they become older, they will be better prepared against more mature competition. This is how and why archers from South Korea and Chinese-Taipei have progressed,” Aranas said.
During the Asean Youth meet, six national junior records were set and Ada Lagrada, who was among the record-breakers, emerged as the most bemedalled athlete of the competition with two golds and one silver medal.
