MANILA, Philippines—Shooter Jayson Valdez is well aware of the target on his back. But as the country’s top-tier marksman, he vowed not to let rivals get a clear shot at his status.
The 26-year-old Tokyo Olympian has even upped the ante as he enters the final stretch of preparation for the 2022 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup on April 9 to 19 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
“We have been training vigorously the past week and the scores are starting to peak,” said Valdez, the nation’s lone shooter during the Olympics last year, who figured in the men’s 10-meter rifle.
According to Valdez, he’s been aiming for a consistent score of at least 623 points in practice, a performance that can give him a fighting chance in the coming worlds and perhaps an opportunity to seize another ticket to the Olympics when the qualifying meets arrive prior to the 2024 Paris Games.
“But for me to make it to the finals, I will be needing 625 and up,” said Valdez, who will be entered in his pet event as well as in the 50m rifle three positions and mixed 10m rifle with Amparo Acuna in the coming Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
The world cup in Brazil will be the first international tournament for the son of former national shooter and now national coach Julius Valdez since missing the finals of his event in the Tokyo Olympics.
That eight-month gap has made Valdez a little bit rusty , but he has been gradually making progress by grinding it out at the Fort Bonifacio firing range daily except on Mondays.
“I know that other members of the team are aiming to beat me. It has actually been the aim of my father to produce a better shooter than me,” said Valdez, a private in the Philippine Army assigned at the marksmanship training school unit.
“But I don’t want to lose, so I put in the effort by training almost everyday,” he added.
Valdez disclosed that he lost the gold medal to a cousin in his event during the national shooting open last year. It made him proud though, knowing that his fellow snipers in the national pool are getting better.
Valdez has made Acuna, considered one of the finest shooters in the county, his regular training partner and toughest opponent as well.
“We always compete as if we’re in a tournament for us to produce good scores. I really want to train with somebody that will push me and other athletes to create more room for improvement,” said Valdez.
Seeking for another Olympic trip, Valdez will begin the quest to accumulate the minimum qualifying scores in qualifying meets for 2024 Paris probably after the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in September where he’s also tipped to participate.