Filipino shooters face a formidable task as they aim to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) secretary-general Iryne Garcia said their calendar is packed with tournaments for their athletes that include Amparo Acuña and Franchette Quiroz in order to earn berths to Paris.

“There’s a lot going on, we’re trying to join in the qualifying [tournament] and international events since last year, not just the (ISSF) World Cup but also for exposure, the ranking leading into Paris,” Garcia said during the PSA Forum on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

“We’re planning to set up a training camp in Germany, they're going there before they go to Brazil for [the] World Cup,” she added.

Garcia said PNSF president and Rep. Mike Dy is fully behind the shooters hoping to make it to Paris, including 2020 Tokyo Olympics veteran Jayson Valdez and Enrique Enriquez (skeet). The country’s other top shooters are Hagen Topacio (trap) and Bryan Rosario, who vied in skeet event of the 2012 London Olympics.

Acuna and Quiroz are bound for a rigid training in Germany next month before they head to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the ISSF World Olympic Qualification Tournament for rifle and pistol set April 11 to 19. 

Then there’s the qualifiers for shotgun in Doha, Qatar from April 19 to 29 for the other Filipino hopefuls. 
Last month, qualifying events for rifle, pistol and shotgun were staged in Jakarta and Kuwait. 

But the Filipinos who made it to the finals fell short of top two finishes that would have guaranteed them of tickets to Paris.

“Based on the rankings, we think we have a high chance. Mataas ang ranking ko and those above me, may quota na,” Acuña said.

“But we must keep on trying because if the top two finishers in each event in the remaining qualifiers have already clinched the quota, it passes on to the other top finishers,” Acuña added.

The country is also hosting the Southeast Asian Shooting Championship this year -- its first since last hosting in 1997.