Dumagueteña archers win the recurve event on May 18 at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at the Hanoi National Sport Training Center in Vietnam. (Photo courtesy of Pia Billaure)
DUMAGUETE CITY––Dumagueteña archers bagged gold medals during the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games after beating the team from the host country Vietnam in the women’s recurve event on Wednesday, May 18, at the Hanoi National Sports Training Center.
Pia Bidaure, Abby Bidaure, and Phoebe Amistoso, all from Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, scored 5-4 in the finals.
Abby Bidaure stood heroic in the final arrow for the shoot-off. She hits the bullseye for 10 with a close time of 10 seconds remaining on the clock, securing their dramatic victory of 26-25.
In an interview, Pia, sister of Abby, told the Inquirer that before their match they already claimed their win after butterflies played around the field.
“I took it as a sign that good things will happen,” she said.
According to Pia, it takes courage for them to bring home the gold medals for the category.
“Never lose hope. As long as the desire to win is there, everything else will fall into place. Success doesn’t happen overnight so patience is needed in sports,” she said.
Pia said they were like “floating” after winning, and if there are reasons that made them reach for the gold, Pia said, “it is the patience and perseverance and trust in coaches and officials.”
According to Pia, they were almost unable to compete in the SEA Games this year after running short of budget.
“At the start of the year, we were told that we won’t be able to attend the SEA Games because of lack of budget. This was quite a challenge for us,” she said.
Pia will fly back to Dumaguete on May 20 for her thesis defense while her teammates Phoebe and Abby will fly back home at the end of this month.
The team is also set to meet the Ayala Group for their Atletang Ayala scholarship grant.
This is the third SEA Games for Pia and the second for Abby and Phoebe.