Amparo Acuna’s ammo didn’t quite hit the mark as she failed to enter the women’s 10-meter rifle final round in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The 26-year-old shot rounds of 102.1, 102.9, 105.1, 103.4, 103, and 101.5 for a total of 618.8 points in the shooting competition’s qualification phase held at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Center in China.
This resulted in her settling for 42nd place in the 59-shooter field, and aside from that, she also fell short of duplicating or breaking the national record of 622.2 that she achieved at the Asian Championships in March.
Still, coach Julius Valdez is hoping that her performance will result in her earning much-needed ranking points to improve her chances of reaching the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“Nasa average ang score. Sana maisama sa Olympic rankings iyung result niya,” said Valdez.
Ranked at no.153 in the Olympic qualification rankings of the 50-meter rifle, 3-prone position, Acuna is seen as one of the country’s possible entrees in next year’s Paris Games.
She is also ranked no. 175 in the 10-meter air rifle event.
Franchette Quiroz, who is ranked at no. 151, and is in the women’s 10-meter air pistol event, is also one of the Philippines’ possible bets.
According to the qualification rules for shooting, the highest-ranked individual who has not yet qualified or whose National Olympic Committee does not have a berth in any of the 12 individual events, will obtain a direct Olympic ticket place through the World Rankings.
The remaining 16 slots are available to eligible NOCs under the Tripartite Commission Invitation to attain a maximum number of 340.