BY CHRISTINE MONCADA
ARCHER Mark Javier goes to Cairo, Egypt, next month to train
for the Beijing Olympics set August.
The Philippine Sports Commission on Wednesday approved in
principle the release of $19,963.55 (roughly P800, 000) requested by the
National Archery Association of the Philippines for Javier’s five-month overseas
training.
"We’re just waiting for the certification from the Philippine
Olympic Committee then he’s good to go," said PSC Commissioner Eric Loretizo.
"This is a shot in the arm of archery and their bid to deliver the country’s
first ever gold medal in the Olympics."
The amount will also cover Javier’s expenses when he sees
action in the three stages of the World Cup to be held in Croatia, Turkey and
France.
"We’re still six months away from the Olympics and this good
preparation for Javier. The PSC is willing to give him all the support he needs
to make sure he’s ready for the competition ahead."
Javier, a recurve specialist, is the country’s lone qualifier
in archery for the quadrennial event set Aug. 8 to 24.
He qualified after scoring 652 points in seven rounds of the recurve
competition in the 15th Asian Championships in China last year, 52 points clear
of the qualifying standard and 35 points behind the world record set by Korean
Dong-Hyun in the Athens Olympics in 2004, according to Loretizo.
