BEIJING Olympian Eric Ang remained untouchable in trap shooting as he won the gold medal for the fourth straight year in the recent Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) Open Championships at the Trap and Skeet Shooting Range in Muntinlupa City .
Still sharp and quick despite his limited time to practice due to the current gun ban – not to mention the lack of competition here and abroad, Ang outlasted Hagen Topacio in a tense showdown, 10-7, to retain his title in the 15-round competition which once again underscored his dominance of the event.
“I don’t have the benefit of a good and long practice due to gun ban so I relied much on my experience,” said the 5-foot-4 businessman from Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. “And that’s the reason why I almost lost to Hagen.”
The gold medal was Ang’s 11th since becoming one of the spearheads of the Philippine team in 1997 or just a year after taking up the sport seriously.
Interestingly, his victory was doubly significant since Topacio is the same player now being tipped to be his successor owing to his tremendous improvements the past two years.
It also augurs well for Ang's title-retention bid in the South East Asian Championships slated November 6-7 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
He’s hoping to win his fourth gold medal in the Kuala Lumpur tournament since winning two in 2007.
“I’m hoping I can shoot well in Malaysia, but I know it’s going to be a tough tournament,” added Ang.
Using his trusted Beretta DT10 12 Gauge, the 42-year-old Ang topped the qualifying round by hitting 110 targets to tow five others into the first final round which he also ruled by firing 13 targets.
Topacio arranged a gold medal showdown with Ang by downing 12 targets.
Jethro Dionisio failed to reach the medal play.
Meanwhile, London Games veteran Brian Rosario won the skeet event while Ylvana Dy beat out Kathleen Granados for the gold in the trap event.
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