Dumaguete archer bags 7 golds in B Pinoy

ILOILO CITY , Philippines  —   The Philippine Sports Commission may have found a gem in the rough in archery.

Naina Dominique Tagle of Dumaguete City outclassed older, more experienced foes as she harvested seven gold medals to emerge the most bemedaled athlete thus far in the Visayas leg of the 2019 Philippine National Youth Games-Batang Pinoy at the West Visayas State University yesterday.

Competing as a 10-year-old against foes aged 13 to 15, Tagle routed Dencil Shane Dinopol of Cebu City 7-0 to add to her earlier victories in 20m, 30m, 40m and 50m, single FITA and mixed.

After securing her seventh gold, the fifth-grader from Silliman University said she hopes to compete in  the high school division as an elementary student in the Palarong Pambansa set in April in Davao City if allowed by the Department of Education.

“There is no archery event for elementary students in the Palaro so we will write the DepEd to allow us to compete,” said Tagle, who comes from a family of practical shooters.

Dumaguete’s Presa Helen Lofranco  blanked teammate Kristanna Carmela Quisumbing, 6-0, in the girls’ cadet to annex her sixth gold.

Tagle’s feat combined with Lofranco’s haul raise to 13 the total gold haul for Dumaguete, the country’s archery capital.

Also with six golds each were Cebu City’s Aldrener Igot Jr., Mandaue’s Godwell Maloloy-on and Negros Occidental’s 12-year-old swimmer Alexi Kouzenye Cabayaran.

The 12-year-old sixth-grader from Mabukal Elementary School in Silay thus emerged with the most gold in swimming after also ruling the 50m and 100m backstroke, 100m free and the 200m medley relay.