NAGOYA, Japan - The World Archery Philippines (WAP) and Philippine Sports Commission's efforts to invest in world-class Korean coaches were quick to pay dividends in the archery competitions at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Veteran Pinay archer Amaya Paz-Cojuangco's silver-medal finish is proof that there's no substitute to having the latest knowledge and strategies in archery handed down by some of the best coaches from the world's top nation in the sport.
READ Top Korean coach's arrival raises hope for PH archery's revival
For the PSC chairman Patrick 'Pato' Gregorio, the hiring of top foreign coaches is the key to fast-tracking the development of Philippine sports at its highest level.
"I’ve long been a believer, lalo na sa highly technical sports like archery. But not just a foreign coach — it has to be a proven Olympic coach," Gregorio told SPIN.ph.
At the heart of this rapid transformation was the arrival of South Korean Olympic coaches Ryu Su Jeng and Hong Sung Chil — two decorated tacticians in the South Korean archery system, the undisputed gold standard of the sport.
Remarkably, the Philippine turnaround took less than 10 months.
It was only last December 2025 when the PSC and WAP convinced coaches Ryu and Hong to bring their Olympic expertise to Manila.
In that short window, the Korean duo overhauled the national squad's regimen, refining bio-mechanical precision, equipment tuning, and high-pressure mental conditioning.
That direct transfer of technology paid off at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Hall, where Paz-Cojuangco dominated Iran's Bita Asheghzadeh Oskouei in the quarterfinals, 146-135, before stunning South Korea's very own Park Jungyoon, 142-141, in the semifinals.
Securing elite coaching talent of that caliber initially raised financial questions within the federation, but Gregorio — guided by his philosophy that "if we want to be the best, get the best" — refused to let budget constraints stand in the way.
When WAP president Bing Reaport asked how the federation could afford the Korean Olympians, Gregorio assured him that he would personally tap corporate sponsors to share the cost.
That decisive gamble nearly hit the jackpot in Nagoya.
Fighting down to the final arrow against Indonesia's Nurisa Dian Ashrifah in a razor-close 137-139 gold medal match, Paz-Cojuangco became the first Filipino archer in history to reach an Asian Games final.
Her podium finish also ended a 12-year Asian Games medal drought for Philippine archery, or since the country's previous best compound finish — a bronze medal won by Paul Marton Dela Cruz in 2014.
For Philippine archery leaders, the historic "silver medal is as good as gold."
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