Olympic gold to come from shooting?

MANILA, Philippines - National Open skeet shooting champion Jake Ancheta said yesterday he agrees with Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez’ prediction of eight years ago that the country’s first Olympic medal will come from either shotgun event of trap or skeet.

Ancheta classified shooting as a late development sport where athletes can still compete at a high level, regardless of age. He pointed out that at the recent Rio Olympics, 50-year-old Fehaid Al Deehani of Kuwait captured the gold medal in double trap. Other gold medalists in the shotgun events were Italy’s Gabriele Rossetti, 21, in skeet and Croatia’s Josip Glasnovic, 33, in trap. “The shotgun events involve a lot of speed,” he said. “Filipinos can excel in this Olympic discipline. I remember when Joey Valdez used to shoot for the country, the Chinese would tremble at his sight.”

Ancheta, 34, said shooting is 90 percent mental. “But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be physically fit,” he said. “You can do cardio and lower body exercises but weightlifting isn’t advised. Squats, deadlift and jogging will help. Shooting requires short, precise movements. After an event, it’s hard to sleep for two to three days because the adrenaline is still pumping. During an event, you sweat like you’re playing four quarters of basketball.”

Ancheta started shooting recreationally in 2011 and after a year, became the champion in defensive pistol. Two years ago, he bumped into multiple Southeast Asian (SEA) Games skeet medalist Raul Arambulo at a gunstore and was encouraged to try his luck in an Olympic shooting event. Ancheta picked skeet and fell in love with it. Last year, he was an “addendum” to the Philippine team that competed at the SEA Games in Singapore with no uniform and paid his own way. The deal was his expenses would be reimbursed by the PSC if he brought home a medal. Ancheta didn’t land a podium finish and absorbed the expense of about P100,000.

“Shooting isn’t a cheap sport,” said Ancheta. “I practice five days a week and spend about P5,000 for bullets and clay targets each practice. For an intercontinental tournament, I spend about P200,000 and for a regional, about P100,000. My annual budget for shooting is at least P500,000. Shooting is tied up to financial stability. Fortunately, I’m able to afford the expenses with my work.”

Ancheta, an interdisciplinary studies graduate from Ateneo, own a company that is the local distributor of Chicago-based GE Healthcare. That’s how he was able to afford a hand-made, over and under Beretta shotgun measured to his specifications by Italian gunsmiths. It cost the equivalent of P520,000. “You bring it to Italy once in four years for adjustments,” he said. “The gun is built to last and something my grandkids can inherit.”

With his Beretta, Ancheta pulled off a major upset and beat Olympian Brian Rosario for the gold medal in skeet at the National Open on the Muntinlupa range last week. Over 20 shooters participated in the monthly eliminations on the way to the National Open where five qualifiers shot it out for the title. In the preliminaries, Rosario led Ancheta, 118-116, with two perfect scores. They advanced to square off in the final with Ancheta edging Rosario, 13-11.

“I achieved two goals that a virtual rookie like me can only dream of,” said Ancheta. “I surpassed the Olympic qualifying score of 114 and I won the national title after less than three years of serious shooting, a feat I believe nobody has accomplished in the history of the Philippine National Shooting Association. I couldn’t believe that despite my inexperience, I was able to beat Brian, a 17-year veteran of the sport, and third placer Patricio Bernardo, a 36-year veteran in skeet with a bemedalled SEA Games career.”

Ancheta described himself as a self-funded athlete. “I’ve yet to receive a single peso from government but our NSA officials are now working on my inclusion into the 2017 national pool,” he said. “I owe a lot to Goma (Mayor Gomez) for allowing me to practice at his shooting range in Antipolo. Without his support, I wouldn’t have been able to hold my own at the National Open.” At the moment, only four shotgun shooters are in the PSC national pool – Rosario in skeet and Hagen Topacio, Jethro Dionisio and Eric Ang in trap.

Ancheta, who is married to Mia Samson with four children, said his family’s transfer from Marikina to Antipolo in a few months will make it more convenient to access Gomez’ facility. “Raul (Arambulo) convinced me to take up an Olympic discipline,” he said. “It’s the way to give honor and glory to your country. My ultimate goal is to qualify for the Olympics.”

Ancheta said so far, he has participated in about 10 international competitions, including sanctioned events in Germany, Italy and India and unsanctioned events in Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong. “At the World Cup in Italy, I finished between 90 and 100 among 160 participants,” he said. “I’m planning to shoot at the next World Cup in New Delhi in February. I hope by then, I’ll be able to receive support from the PSC. So far, I’ve been Mr. X whenever I compete abroad because I’m not a national athlete.”