Tac, PH marksmen way off Asiad target

GUANGZHOU—Shooting legend Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla paid dearly for a slight error in form while the young products of his development program were completely overwhelmed by the opposition in the 16th Asian Games here. Padilla, needing a strong Stage 2 in his pet 25m rapid fire pistol,  committed a blunder in the last five rounds of the third phase that cut his rally short.              “My last five rounds did me in,” said the 46-year-old Padilla at the Aoti Shooting range in Tianhe district here. “I made the mistake of lifting too early and I tried to put it back but by then, nasira na ang timing ko.”              Stuck at 14th after the first stage, Padilla scored 97 in the eight-second phase before hitting one of only three 100s in stage 2 in a strong six-second phase before coughing up a paltry 86 in the four-second phase—his lowest for the day.              Padilla, who was hoping to catch one of six slots to the finals,  wound up with a 568 total. He needed at least a 98 in his last rounds to advance.              Charisse Palma was way off her personal best in the women’s 50m rifle prone final, shooting a 546 that left her mired at 49th place.
             “It would have been different had our coaches been with us. We were the only ones without coaches and there was really no one to help us make technical adjustments,” said Palma, a product of Padilla’s national youth development program.              Palma’s personal best of 585 would have put the University of Santo Tomas student in the top 20, a good start for an Asiad first-timer facing some of the world’s best veterans.              Jayson Valdez also finished near the bottom of the men’s 50m rifle prone, managing just a 564.              “I was just to eager to do things so I made a few mistakes,” said the 15-year-old Valdez. “I wasn’t really nervous but just made a few mistakes.”