Shooters Valdez, Acuña hit new PH marks

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino shooters Jayson Valdez and Amparo Acuña may not have medaled in the 2018 Asian Games, but at least they’ll go home with new records in the bag.

Valdez placed 17th overall in the 10m air rifle shooting men’s qualifiers with a new Philippine record of 618.6 points, 0.1 higher than the previous record which he also set at the 2015 World Cup in Korea.

Acuña finished 40th in the women’s division, but also set a new record of 603.7 points.

Both needed to crack the top 8 in order to qualify for the finals.

Regardless of standing, both shooters found positives from their Asiad experiences.

“Medyo kulang, pero okay lang kasi na-enjoy ko eh,” Valdez told reporters in Palembang, Indonesia. “Siguro halfway [nag-struggle ako]. Medyo maganda yung start ko eh.”

(I came up a bit short, but it’s okay since I enjoyed. I had a good start but I think I struggled halfway.)

The women’s tournament standard was upped from 40 to 60 shots, which meant longer rounds for the competitors. Acuña said the changes took some getting used to, and admittedly, felt disappointed with her run.

“Dati 40 shots sya, ngayon naging 60 – yung expectation ko na ‘Okay, fourth string na. Patapos na’ pero hindi pa pala, kasi may dalawa pang string – bente pang shots – it takes getting used to,” she shared. “[I need] more practice and more exposure with this setup.”

(Before, it was 40 shots, now it’s 60 – my expectation were ‘Okay, it’s the fourth string, it’s almost over’ but it’s really not, because there are 2 strings left – 20 more shots – it takes getting used to.)

Still, Acuña hopes to learn from the experience. 

“Not my best, maybe one of my worst scores, if we’re being honest,” she admitted. “But yeah, good experience. At least I know what to expect in upcoming competitions, especially bigger competitions like World Cup, who to expect as winners and what scores I should target for.” – Rappler.com