An former Olympic shooter who used to compete for the Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan national teams is helping Amparo “Ampao” Acuna improve her form in the women’s 50-meter 3-position rifle competition.
And the assistance of Igor Pirekeyev, who is now a Kuwait-based instructor, will be vital in her next campaign to earn more Olympic Qualification Ranking points with national teammate Franchette Quiroz.
Pirekeyev, a two-time Asian Games gold medallist, is also a three-time Olympic veteran who saw action for Turkmenistan, and qualified for the final round of the men’s 50 meter rifle prone event, and finished in seventh place in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
The 52-year old Pirekeyev join Murad Hanov, a Qatari pistol shooting expert, and Acuna’s coach Julius Valdez adjust Acuna’s form during the 15th Asian Shooting Championship 2023, held recently in Changwon, Korea.
“I’m excited for the changes, and hopeful na maging OK ang aking performance,” said the 26-year old Acuna following her return to the Philippines with the rest of the national shooting team.
After her stint together with Quiroz in Changwon, members of the national team will go to another Olympic qualifier to seek more points, and they will be in the 2024 Asian Shooting Championships on Jan. 5 to Jan. 18 in Jakarta, Indonesia,
After that, they will compete in the last leg, which is the 2024 ISSF World Olympic Qualification Tournament on April 11 to April 19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Acuna is thankful for the aid she got from Hanov, who is Quiroz’s current mentor in the air pistol event.
“Marami siyang kilalang coach na Olympian nandun. So pinatulungan niya ako duon. Ang dami kong need na dapat ayusin sa standing position,” added Acuna.
So far, Quiroz and Acuna have met expectations when they surpassed the minimum qualification scores in four of 12 shooting events that will be held in the 2024 Paris Olympics, while they were in Changwon.
Philippine National Shooting Association secretary general Iryne Garcia noted that Quiroz is currently doing better while Acuna’s rankings needs to improve.
“Yes. Franchette did relatively better than everybody , ranking wise. Yes. Ampao is ok lang but ranking not good . MQS is common in rifle,” stated Garcia.
Quiroz, now the highest ranking shooter from the Philippines after the Hangzhou Asian Games, compiled 565 points in the women’s 10-meter air pistol qualifications to finish at no. 41 overall.
With rounds of 95, 94, 92, 96, 94 and 94, Quiroz’s score went past the MQS of 550.
The 27-year-old Quiroz later struck a total of 574 points in the women’s 25-meter pistol event, which was past the MQS of 560.
On the final day, Acuna shot a total of 616.6 in the women’s 10-meter air rifle event to end up at no. 53, just 5.6 points shy of the Philippine national record.
Acuna did not disappoint as her score was way above the MQS of 590.
She had 616.7 in the women’s 50-meter rifle prone competitions to come up with her best finish in the tournament at 16th place.