Trained by two former Olympians, Naina Tagle now dominating archery in Palarong Pambansa

ILOCOS NORTE - From learning from the best, Naina Tagle is now a dominant force in the local archery scene.

The 17-year-old Dumaguete pride has so far collected four gold medals and one silver in the ongoing 2025 Palarong Pambansa in Ilocos Norte and she owes her success to two former Filipino Olympians who have been the guiding light in her young career. 

Tagle, a Grade 11 student at the Silliman University, is a student of Jennifer Chan and Rowel Merto, both of whom have represented the country in the Olympics. Chan bannered the country during the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney while Merto represented the Philippines back in 1988. 

Tagle is making the most of her Palaro stint in her bid to follow in the footsteps of her mentors of being a national team member. 

"I just trained hardest. I trained as much as I could. I prayed to God and with the support of my family, that’s how I prepared. Before I appraach the shooting line, I pray and I remember why I love archery and what I’m doing archery for, my family and all the people that have supported me," Tagle told reporters on Thursday.

"They taught me to be the basics and to keep calm during the game."

But aside from her coaches, Tagle is also looking up to his older sister Nicole, who was her first influence in getting into the sport when she was in Grade 3. 

Nicole was a former national team member and has won a silver medal in the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur while also representing the country in Youth Olympics the following year. 

"I started archery when I was in Grade 3 because I saw my sister shooting in Cebu and when I saw here winning golds with her teammates, I felt I wanted to join the sport as well because she inspires me," the younger Tagle added.

"She told me everything. She’s like my reminder and my support at home because I don’t have my parents here so she’s always there to give me words of encouragement, what to do, and how to enjoy."

So far, Tagle has won gold medals in 30-meter, 50-meter, 60-meter, and 1440 round while she bagged a silver medal in the 70-meter distance event. 

But even when she is already dominating her division, Tagle is keeping herself humble as she looks to make it to the national team and compete in the Southeast Asian Games.

"I want to follow my sister’s footsteps and maybe compete sa Southeast Asian Games, I hope. Wherever God takes me, I’ll try my best there. I hope I’ll succeed," she said.

"I think it’s always everybody’s game po. The one thing that I could say is you just have to be consistent sa scores mo and enjoy the game. you don’t have to be serious all the time. You just have to enjoy."

—JKC, GMA Integrated News