AFTER going as high as No. 6 for his sixth-place finish in the recent Asian Shotgun Cup in Kuwait, Hangzhou Asian Games veteran Hagen Topacio dropped into a tie for No. 14 in the latest ISSF men’s shotgun ratings issued over the weekend.
Topacio had a rating of 1,050 points in a tie for 14th place with Finland’s Juho Johannes Maekelae in the rankings where young Asian Cup champion Mohammad Beyranvand, 17, of Iran and Spain’s Alberto Fernandez were tied at the top with 2,000 points each.
Despite his slide, Topacio, 34, a protégé of ailing former national coach Ed Fernandez, remained as the highest-ranked Pinoy shooter among the those still vying for tickets to the Paris Olympics in July.
In contrast, Brian Rosario, who represented the country in the 2012 London Olympics, was No. 50 in the men’s trap event and Amparo Acuna was No. 61 in the women’s 10-meter air rifle event with 44 and 140 points, respectively.
Topacio will have a tougher challenge to qualify for the Paris Summer Games as he eyes to compete in the world Olympic qualification shotgun competition slated Feb. 29 to March 9 in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, according to ex-national shotgun shooter Raul Arambulo.
“Just like the Asian meet, only the top two shooters in the men’s trap competition can qualify for the Paris Olympics,” he said.
Should he fail to do so, the next route would be the ISSF Olympic rankings, with the top two finishers by June 9 advancing to the Olympics.
The last chance would be through the recommendation of the Philippine National Shooting Association of the shooter to the Tripartite Commission,
