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Olympic medal possible for Ang
Written by Staff   
Thursday, 07 August 2008 03:08

It won’t be easy for Eric Formoso Ang to bring home a medal in trap shooting at the Beijing Olympics but the mission is possible, said Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) president Art Macapagal Wednesday.

Ang opens the Philippine campaign at the Beijing shooting range on Saturday morning. If he survives the preliminaries, Ang will advance to the qualification and final rounds the next day.

“Eric has what it takes to be an Olympic champion,” said Macapagal in a text message from Beijing. “He is disciplined, determined, strong and self-confident. He is ready and believes in his chances so let’s pray the breaks go for him.”

Macapagal said the breaks refer to the flight of the bird unaccompanied by unusual gusts of wind.

“Because shooting is done outdoors, weather makes competition conditions unequal for all shooters but Eric is technically and mentally prepared any type of weather condition,” said Macapagal.

“All the 33 shooters competing in the event have equal skills so it will be one great contest,” continued Macapagal. “Eric is respected by his fellow competitors which adds to his confidence.”

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Jose Cojuangco Jr. said he has high hopes for Ang to bag a medal.

“I think we’ve got at least four medal prospects,” noted Cojuangco. “Eric is in the list with Harry (Tañamor) of boxing and Toni (Rivero) and Tshomlee (Go) of taekwondo. Eric did very well in the World Cup this year and he might just surprise us in Beijing.”

Ang, the oldest athlete in the country’s delegation of 15 at 37, competed in three world meets this year in Beijing, Suhl in Germany and Belgrade in Serbia. It was in Suhl where Ang posted a new Philippine record of 121 birds and wound up tied in sixth spot with Athens Olympic gold medalist Aleksei Alipov of Russia. Ang, the best Asian placer, finished only two birds behind world titlist and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Michael Diamond of Australia.

“Because of budget constraints, Eric had a choice of getting a foreign coach or competing overseas,” said PNSA director and treasurer Gay Corral. “He felt competing abroad would boost his confidence and it really worked. Eric basically trains by himself in Laoag (where he is from) but in Beijing, his official coach is James Chua (president of the PNSA-affiliated moving target associations).”

Corral said Ang’s showing in Suhl established his credentials as a contender in Beijing.

“In Athens, there were over 50 shooters in trap but in Beijing, the list is down to less than 40,” continued Corral. “Eric’s confidence is very high particularly since his best-ever performance in Suhl.”

Ang will use an Italian custom-made Beretta DT-10 shotgun in Beijing. There will be 125 targets in men’s trap where clay “bids” are hurtled into the air.

A five-time Southeast Asian (SEA) Games shooter, Ang qualified for the Olympics through merit. He was awarded a “universality” slot during a federation General Assembly meeting in Beijing last April on Macapagal’s recommendation. Ang earned the berth because of his status as one of Asia’s top 15 trap shooters.

In Beijing, there are 390 slots for shooting in 15 events – nine for men and six for women – with more than 65 participating countries. The events are divided into four groups – shotgun, rifle, pistol and running – target events.

Of the 390 shooters, 10 are wildcard entries determined by a tripartite committee made up of representatives of the International Olympic Committee, the International Shooting Federation and the applying National Olympic Committee. Additionally, there are 14 shooters with “universality” tickets given by the federation to those who failed to qualify from the World Championships, World Cup and Continental Championships.

Before Beijing, the only Filipino wildcard Olympic entries were shooter George Earnshaw (1996), shooter Jasmin Luis (2000), archer Jasmine Figueroa (2004) and shooter Jethro Dionisio (2004). This year, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz is the country’s wildcard athlete.

The closest a Filipino shooter came to an Olympic medal was at the 1936 Olympics where Martin Gison took fourth in the small-bore .22 rimfire rifle prone event. Gison was actually tied for second with five others but slipped to fourth after a series of shootoffs. A Bataan Death March survivor, Gison returned to the Olympics in 1948 but failed to place along with shooting teammates Albert von Einsiedel and Cesar Jayme. He also competed in 1952, 1956 and 1964, gaining the distinction of being the country’s only five-time Olympian.

The Philippines has sent shooters to the Olympics in 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. Macapagal represented the country in the men’s free pistol in 1972 and 1976.

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