RP lady shooter scores stunning upset

By June Navarro
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Somebody has just put the Philippines in the practical shooting world map.

Grace Tan bagged the ladies’ open crown in the European Intercontinental Handgun Championship held recently in Cheval Blanc, France, besting reigning world ladies champion Gabriele Kraushofer of Austria.

A two-time silver medalist in the world championships for practical shooting, Tan collected 1,353 points while Kraushofer had 1,314.

The Austrian bet, who captured the 2005 World Shoot Championships in Ecuador, was followed by Czech Republic’s Lenka Herejsi who put together 1,309 points for the bronze medal.

“I was in good shape during the entire tournament,” said the 30-year-old Tan, also a silver medalist in the 1996 (Brazil) and 1999 (Cebu City) editions of the World Shoot, highly regarded as the Olympics of practical shooting.

“It was probably the result of all the difficulties I’ve been through while training for this event,” Tan added.

With more than a thousand snipers from 50 countries participating, the European Intercontinental Handgun Championship is held every two years, or one year before the world championships.

Tan, who used a nine-millimeter STI custom-made gun, said the event would provide her ample experience in time for the World Shoot XIV in Bali, Indonesia, in September next year.

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