Olympic hopeful Amparo Teresa “Ampao” Acuna landed 41st place at the close of the 50-meter, 3-position air rifle event, her final stint on Sunday in the 2024 Asian Rifle and Pistol Olympic Qualifications meet in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The 26-year-old Acuna missed the finals, but she remains upbeat that her participation and placing will earn her the needed points for qualification to the Paris Olympics.
“Okay lang po, even if it’s not my best score,” said Acuna, whose averages are close to the Philippine national record.
Acuna tallied a total of 571 points during the qualification phase, which was 12 short of the national mark of 583, which she achieved in June last year.
In the end, it was Korean Kim Jee Hee and Kazakhstan’s Alexandra Le, who took sixth and seventh places in the finals, who earned qualification.
The winner, Nancy Nancy of Indonesia, had already earned a slot to the Paris meet during a previous shootfest.
“My opponents are very experienced. They’re Olympians. And the shooters from India have always been in the finals,” added Acuna.
Earlier, Acuna settled for 44th place in the 10-meter air rifle event, with 620.3 points during the qualifying stage.
A total 170 men and 170 women will earn slots and compete in shooting in the Paris 2024 games.
Acuna said it was mental toughness that allowed her and teammate Franchette Quiroz to endure the difficulties of joining Olympic qualifiers.
And Qatari coach Murad Hanov, aside from her coach Julius Valdez, made it possible for them to pull through.
“Coach Julius is helping me with my techniques, while Hanov takes care of me mentally, because my opponents are really tough,” added Acuna.
