National pool member Eugene Cañelas bagged one gold and two bronze medals in the 2014 University of the Philippines-De La Salle University-Ateneo de Manila University Archery Tri Meet recently held at the La Salle Enrique Razon Building in Taft Avenue, Manila.
The 24-year-old Cañelas, who represented the University of the Philippines, ruled the men’s recurve individual elimination after beating Joseph Alvarado of Ateneo, 6-0, in their championship match.
“I was a bit uneasy during my first few matches because my shooting was inconsistent. I didn’t think about the score anymore. I just wanted to shoot my best and I’m happy I did it,” said Cañelas, a Computer Science graduate at UP-Baguio and currently an instructor at The Manila Times College in Subic.
He also secured a bronze medal in the recurve individual ranking behind La Salle bets Bryan Po and Lance Lim, who took the top two spots.
Cañelas then connived with Kevin Matundan and Nico Alfafara in
claiming the third place honors in the team event. La Salle copped the team event gold while Ateneo settled for second place.
Overall, UP claimed four gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the tournament.
It was Canela’s second major event this year after placing fifth in the recurve individual ranking of the 2014 Philippine National Games archery competition held in Manila. The event was dominated by Luis Gabriel Moreno, who recently won a gold medal in the prestigious Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.
Cañelas will compete in the National Outdoor Tournament in Dumaguete in October and the 2014 Indoor Archery World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand in December.
He has also set his sights on earning a spot in the prestigious 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“After this, I’m going to start preparing for the national outdoor tournament and the indoor archery World Cup. I want to improve my ranking in the national level after competing in these tournaments to let me get a closer shot at the Olympics,” he said.
“I also need to improve my craft to be at par with the region’s best. It’s a long shot but I am determined to fulfill my dream of competing in the Olympics,” he added.