RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Tinamaan ng lintik ang kampanya ni Miguel Tabuena sa golf competition nang magtamo ng pananakit ang kanang balikat at malimitahan ang galaw para sa four-over-par 75 at tuluyang malaglag sa bangin ng kabiguan sa Rio Olympics.
Matapos ang dalawang araw ng kompetisyon, kasama ang 21-anyos na si Tabuena sa sosyong ika-54 puwesto tangan ang kabuuang iskor na 148. Umiskor siya ng 73 sa unang round.
Nangunguna pa rin si Marcus Fraser ng Australia sa naiskor na 69 para sa kabuuang 132, isang stroke ang bentahe kay Thomas Pieters ng Belgium (67-66) at dalawang stroke kina reigning French Open champion Henrik Stenson ng Sweden (66-68).
“If this wasn’t the Olympics and if I didn’t have this flag on my shirt, I would have pulled out already. But we have two more days and anything can happen,” sambit ng reigning Philippine Open champion.
Kaagad na sinuri ni Martin Camara, sikat na chiropractor na kasama ng Team Philippines, ang nananakit na balikat ni Tabuena.
“I’m okay now but not a hundred percent yet. I hope it gets better in the morning,” sambit ni Tabuena, makakasama sa flight sa ganap na 7:41 ng umaga sina Yuta Ikeda ng Japan (74-69-143) at KakkoRoope ng Finland (72-76-148).
“Hopefully I go out with my guns blazing tomorrow. That’s the only chance we can get a medal here. I am pretty far down but I have shot very low before and I don’t see why I can’t do it again,” sabi ng nag-iisang Pinoy golfer sa Olympic.
“I’m trying to enjoy. It’s all part of the experience. And I wanted for everyone to know that I am not giving up until the last day,”aniya.