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BEIJING—Team
Philippines found Day Three a sad, forgettable one as
shooter Eric Ang finished last in the individual trap
event of the 29th Olympic Games shooting competitions on
a rainy Sunday.
The
37-year-old Ang shot 21 and 20 birds in the fourth and
fifth strings, respectively, as he struggled in the face
of powerful opposition in his first foray into the
biggest, toughest sports show in the world.
A Laoag
City businessman who said afterward that he was looking
forward to carrying the national colors again in the
2012 London Olympics if given a chance, Ang totalled 106
birds after a 19, 24 and 22 efforts in the first three
strings in a letdown for someone who was even fancied by
a high-ranking official to deliver a medal.
His
first Olympic bid ending in disaster, Ang hopes to do
well in another place, in another time.
“Sana
sa susunod na Olympics, makabawi ako.
Paghahandaan ko na ‘yung susunod kung mag-qualify
ako,” said Ang, a picture of a bitter man as he made
his way to the interview room of the big Beijing Trap
Shooting Range in the outskirts of this booming city.
Moments
ago, Ang making his first appearance on the biggest
sports stage of all, wound up dead-last in the men’s
trap event, becoming the first of the 15 Filipino
athletes to possibly take a trip to the Great Wall or
look for the first available flight back to Manila.
Ang
struggled with a 21 in the fourth string and a low 20 in
the fifth to finish with a 106 total, ending last among
the 35 starters who shot most of the times under steady
drizzles on Day 3 of the 29th Olympic Games here.
The
other day Ang fired 19, 24 and 22 birds in the first
three sessions of 25 birds each for 65 points to tie
four others for 29th and 33rd places, in a poor showing
that virtually knocked him out of the running for the
six-man championship.
“Hilung-hilo
pa rin ako pagkatapos ng event,” he said in a light
vein, trying to mask the frustration over a botched
campaign in a sport where mental toughness, preparation
and psychological factors are something you need to
excel, according to him.
With his
Beijing bid now gone, Ang is now looking forward to
playing in London, site of the 2012 Olympics.
“The
Beijing Olympics was a learning experience. Sa
susunod, paghahandaan ko talaga,” he said while
practically making fun of his total which he said is
only good for the Southeast Asian Games.
Using
his 3-year-old Beretta DT 10 shotgun, Ang missed the
5th, ninth, 19th, 20th and 24 birds for that 20-total in
the second string where only Fiji’s Glenn Kable fired a
perfect 25 and only 12 managed a 24, including top
qualifiers Russian Alexey Alipov (121) and
Czechoslovakia’s David Kostelecky (121).
The four
others who made it to the final round were Erminio
Frasca (120) and Giovanni Fellielo (120) of Italy,
Michael Diamond of Australia (119) and Josep Glasnovic
of Croatia (119).
Like the
rest, Ang has learned how difficult it was competing in
the Summer Games.
“Iba
talaga ang Olympics. Nalaman ko na kulang pa
pala ang preparasyon ko dito sa Beijing. But I guess
it was a good learning experience,” he said, before
saying goodbye to the Filipino scribes who interviewed
him some 15 minutes after his round. |
