Caring for daughter Iya has given national team archer Abby Pama an even more important goal to shoot for

RATHER than being flustered by the thought that she must care for a 4-year-old child while doing wonders for the country, bemedalled Abbigail ?Abby? Tindugan Pama is happily looking forward to a more fruitful career with the national archery team.

?Being a mother is a wonderful, refreshing feeling. More than ever, I am inspired to do more for my country. Having a daughter isn?t a distraction but inspiration,? said the 28-year-old Pama, who learned the wonders of archery at a battered range in the bowels of Balut, Tondo.

Married to Jazzer Pama of Trece Martirez, Cavite, Abby has a 4 year-old daughter named Abreia Jezel, ?Iya? for short. Pama is taking time off from her national team duties after suffering a miscarriage owing to the strain of competition last December at the Laos Southeast Asian Games.

Braving the stifling heat, mother and daughter rode public transport from Trece Martirez in Cavite to the Inquirer office in Makati City. Obviously tired but still keeping her sunny disposition, Pama never runs out of comforting words for her daughter, nicknamed Iya, who seemed overwhelmed by her new-found environment.

Armed with a lifetime of stories about her daughter, it is clear that the archer in Abby takes a backseat with Iya around her. ?She?s typical of her age, only that she likes to be carried ? and this is difficult because she?s a very healthy girl.?

Abby, though, cherishes the thought of spending more time with Iya, who was born a year after she shot her way to stardom by landing the team gold medal in the compound bow division during the 2005 Southeast Asian Games at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

?I use to leave Iya with my mother in order to concentrate on my training. Now I can really look after her, especially since I need to recover after my miscarriage,? Abby said.

Pama recalls how she used to rush home after training at the Ultra (now Philsports Complex) in Pasig City. ?I just wanted to hug and play with Iya because she was sleeping when I left. I was worried that she would be sleeping when I arrived,? said Abby. ?The tiredness is gone the moment that I see Iya.?

A veteran of the 2006 and 2007 World Cup in Shanghai and Xian, China, Pama successfully juggled her motherly and national team duties when she joined Jennifer Chan, Amaya Paz and Joann Tabañag in retaining the compound team gold in the 2007 Thailand SEA Games. A year after, Pama also brought home a gold and a bronze from the Asian Grand Prix also in Thailand.

Her face turning solemn, Pama, who took up Physical Education at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and University of Makati, admitted that at times it was necessary to leave Aya at home to find the perfect practice.

?You can say that I continue winning even with Iya, but there are times when I find it difficult to think about winning because I want to be with her always,? Pama said. ?But then, I cannot afford to have a yaya, so that I can bring Iya to practice all the time.?

She said that after suffering a miscarriage, her husband wasn?t inclined to let her rejoin the national team. But with her face glowing, Pama said she sees no problem rejoining the national team. ?Jazzer will understand if I join the qualifying for the national team. Archery, despite its limited opportunities here, is part of our lives because we met while I was practicing at the UP range in Diliman.?

The sport runs in her blood and Abby, even while shying away from competition, hasn?t totally put away her bows and arrows. With fellow team member Joann Tabañag, Abby teaches archery to enthuasists of all shapes and sizes at the exclusive Manila Polo Club and Palms Village in Ayala, Alabang.

?Life is hard. Teaching provides me an extra income,? said Pama. She?s a Class A athlete, but a new policy enforced by the Philippine Sports Commission with regard to members of national teams means she?s no longer been receiving a monthly stipend from the agency since January.

Like other national sports associations, the National Archery Association of the Philippines isn?t free of leadership woes. ?I have no quarrel with our sports officials. But I would like to appeal for unity because athletes are being sidelined by the infighting,? Pama said.

The photo shoot went off without a hitch as Iya threw no tantrums and gamely posed for the camera. Abby, though, isn?t going to be lured into a false sense of security, knowing that her daughter is already tired and sleepy.

She?s right. On the way down, Iya asked to be carried as they negotiated the spiral PDI staircase. It?s clear to all that Iya?s one load Abby?s more than willing to carry. ?