Philippine shooters bag 2 medals in Laos tourney

MANILA, Philippines – Watch out for the names Jayson Valdez and Inna Therese Gutierrez in the coming SEA Games this November in Indonesia.

The two shooters showed their readiness for the biennial meet following their impressive showing in the ongoing Southeast Asian Shooting Championships in Vientiane, Laos.

Having a pedigree of a champion, the 15-year-old Valdez upstaged several well-decorated shooters from Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand to capture the silver medal in the men’s air rifle event Tuesday, a performance that will serve him in good stead not only for the coming SEA Games but also for future major international events.

Gutierrez, on the other hand, bagged the bronze medal in the ladies prone rifle event.

According to Philippine National Shooting Association Secretary General Nil Gamboa, Valdez, son of seven-time gold medalist and Marine Master Sergeant Julius, tallied 690.5 points to miss the gold by 2.5 points.

He had a qualifying score of 591-40x and a final score of 99.5.

Thai Chasa Watweerawat won the gold while Singaporean ZXhang Jin wound up third. Former SEAG champion Emerito Concepcio finished 13th.

PNSA president and Harbour Centre CEO Mikee Romero was elated with the performance of the two shooters, saying: “Consider them now as two of our bright gold medal prospects in the SEA Games. They still have enough time to improve further, especially their confidence.”

Shooting’s other bright prospect is of course long-time pistolero champion Tac Padilla.

“I’m not pressuring them to deliver the gold medal but with their determination and iron will, they will come up as big winners,” said Romero.

A second year legal management student of San Beda Alabang and a first timer in international shooting competition, Gutierrez produced 588-34x to finish third behind Thai and Vietnam shooters.