MANILA, Philippines – Filipina para archer Agustina Bantiloc wrapped up her brief but historic Paris Paralympics stint on Friday, August 30, after she fell prey to her heavily favored foe.
Bantiloc crashed out of the 1/16 elimination in the women’s individual compound open following a 143-127 loss to Brazil’s Jane Karla Gogel at the Esplanade des Invalides.
Ranked third in the world, Gogel stamped her class as she fired 10 points eight times through five ends to reach the 1/8 elimination, where she will face China’s Zhou Jiamin.
Gogel proved too steady for Bantiloc, with the Brazilian hitting 9 points for the rest of her 15 arrows.
Meanwhile, Bantiloc got 10 points just twice as she became the first para athlete out of the Philippines’ six representatives to get eliminated in the quadrennial showpiece.
Bantiloc got paired with fifth seed Gogel after she finished the ranking round at 28th and last place despite scoring a season-best 618 points.
In the knockout rounds, para archers go head to head and shoot three arrows for each of the five ends, with the athlete totaling the higher score advancing.
Still, Bantiloc made history as the first Filipino para archer to see action in the Paralympics. The pride of Tanudan, Kalinga is also the oldest in the Philippine para delegation at 56 years old.
Bantiloc, who shared the flag-bearing duties with para swimmer Ernie Gawilan in the opening ceremony, qualified through the bipartite commission invitation. – Rappler.com