Bermuda’s archers were the stars of the show on the opening day of the Junior Pan American Games in Asunción.

Robin Selley and Jaydon Roberts combined their talents in the mixed team event and will play for a bronze medal tomorrow after making it through a string of tough matches.

After finishing seventh in the elimination stage, with only eight teams progressing to the knockout stages, Bermuda were drawn against Guatemala in the last eight, beating then 5-3. Powerhouses Brazil were laying in wait in the quarter-finals and Bermuda fought well after going down 2-0 in the first game to seal a stunning victory 5-3.

From one huge nation to another, as Bermuda went up against the United States in the semi-finals knowing that victory would put them in with a chance of playing for gold. The two Bermuda youngsters fought every step of the way and were gallant in defeat, losing 5-3.

For Selley, who has had an amazing couple of days after being chosen as the Bermuda flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony, the day surpassed all her expectations.

“I’ve definitely exceeded my expectations,” she said. “The goal was just to get a personal best, which I did. I had no idea that we would get this far in the mixed team and I’m just really proud of us.

“I’m having a lot of fun and this is a huge event, so I’m just pleased to be here and excited to keep shooting against some of the best in the Americas.”

The win against Brazil, a country of more than 210 million people, was the highlight of the day for Roberts.

“It was really a thrill,” he said. “Some of these countries have specific camps and the people that they send to these events have to meet a certain standard.

“They have multiple people to choose from and they only send the best, so to know we got out and we got this far was great. We did our best and put everything out on the field. Although we came up short in the semi-final, I’m very proud of us.”

Archery coach Ross Roberts has been instrumental in the sporting lives of his son and Selley, and there was probably no prouder man than him in Paraguay last night.

“We’ve reached beyond our expectations and I see a lot of promise in these two and we will keep working and just keep pushing on,” he said.

“This is the reward of just getting on and doing the week. We know now what it takes to get to this level and we’re nearly at the pinnacle, but we’ll keep trying to achieve more.”

As well as launching themselves on to the regional stage in the team event, Selley and Roberts also made progress into the knockout stages of the women’s and men’s recurve singles, which take place today.

Selley finished ninth of the 22 competitors in the qualifying event after shooting a combined total of 597 in her two rounds. She will take on Sophia Baptista Soares, from Brazil, in the round of 16.

Roberts claimed the final spot in the elimination round after finishing sixteenth of the 25 entrants, and he will face off against Bruno Nunzi, of Argentina, in the round of 16.

Elsewhere, swimmer Elijah Daley got his chance to race in the B final of the 200 metres butterfly, finishing fifth and claiming thirteenth place overall

Daley originally finished just a place outside the top 16 after finishing fifth in heat one, but he was given the chance to swim in the B Final after a withdrawal from one of the faster swimmers.

Daley performed above himself on the night to finish fifth in a time of 2min 7.46sec, far quicker than his morning swim. He also finished sixth in heat three of the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:05.5, which placed him seventeenth overall.

Sam Williamson finished seventh in heat two of the 100 metres breaststroke with his time of 1:07.23, good enough for twentieth overall.

Charlotte Millington was thirteenth in the women’s cycling time-trial. One of the youngest athletes in the field, she completed the course on the waterfront in Asunción in 40:56.76. The event was won in 36:43.32 by Garzon Cifuentes, of Colombia.