PH archer, pal gain semifinals

BUENOS AIRES – Filipino archer Nicole Tagle got a consistent partner in Hendrik Oun of Estonia to advance to the quarterfinals of the mixed international team event in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

The pair of Tagle and Oun defeated the lower-ranked duo of Isabela Bassi of Chile and Ravien Dalpatadu of Sri Lanka in a shoot off, 5-4, to set up a meeting with Alyssia Tromans-Ansell of Great Brittain and Reza Shabani of Iran in the succeeding phase of the Olympic-round format.

``I have a good partner in Hendrik. To advance, we have to be consistent again in the next round,’’ said Tagle, who had a combined score of 19 points against the 17 points of Bassi and Dalpatadu in the shoot off.

Tagle and Oun gave Bassi and Dalpatadu the first set of the 16arrow four-set before seizing the next two frames for a 2-1 advantage to the delight of Filipino crowd that includes chef de mission Jonne Go and Josephine Joy Reyes, head of the Philippine Sports Commission’s medical and scientific athletes services department.

Both of them, however, shot a pair of 7s in the final set, allowing their opponent to storm back by scoring 36 points to force the playoff.

Ranked fourth in the mixed event, Tromans-Ansell and Shabani crushed Wian Roux of South Africa and Himani Himani of India, 5-1, to also make into the quarterfinals.

No. 13 in the rankings, Tagle and Oun will shoot 16 arrows in four sets during the quarters and hope that Tromans-Ansell and Shabani fumble along the way.

The prized archer from Dumaguete City is aiming to follow the footsteps of Gab Moreno, the first Filipino to win a gold medal in the Youth Olympics.