Archer Amaya Cojuangco delivers historic Asiad silver

Mabuhay ka, Amaya Cojuangco! (Anushree Fadnavis / REUTERS)

Indeed, success is not earned overnight.

You get results today, do better tomorrow, might fail and repeat the cycle until you reap the fruits of your labor with a feat that you once badly wanted in your career.

Filipina Amaya Cojuangco personified all of these as the veteran archer finally took home an Asian Games medal after four tries since the 2014 edition in Incheon.

On Oct. 1, 2026, Cojuangco bagged a historic silver medal in the women’s compound individual event of the 20th Asian Games archery tournament at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square in Japan.

The 40-year-old PHL national team staple lost in a heartbreaking 137-139 finale against Indonesia’s Nurisa Dian Ashrifah, but much of the post-match buzz focused less on her defeat and more on her breakthrough performance.

After 12 years, Cojuangco finally got over the Asian Games hump and took all those lessons from Incheon, Jakarta-Palembang and Hangzhou into a convincing run in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Aside from becoming the maiden podium finisher in the 20th Asian Games archery event, Cojuangco also capped her campaign as the first Filipina to win an Asian Games silver medal in PHL history.

Cojuangco halted the PHL’s 12-year archery medal drought in the quadrennial meet, following Paul Marton Dela Cruz’s bronze finish in 2014.

It was still a performance to be proud of for Cojuangco after dragging Ashrifah into a mano-a-mano battle through the first four ends.

Both archers stayed composed through the first four ends, resulting in a nip-and-tuck 110-all deadlock heading into the fifth and final end.

However, the Indonesian star put the pressure on Cojuangco after hitting a clutch 10 on her second-to-last shot, which was enough to secure the gold medal.

“Very lucky, I thank the Lord. I think parang destiny siya,” Cojuangco said.

“I really didn’t qualify well. I think I was ranked 28. So I came from behind and every match was really a fight. Maraming salamat po sa suporta niyo, I love you guys, I love my family.”