Rosario rips Phl shotgun record in World Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Veteran skeet shooter Paul Brian Rosario set a new Philippine record of 120 in an impressive stint in the ISSF World Cup Shotgun Championship in Belgrade, Serbia recently.

Rosario’s score is just a point shy of American shooter Vincent Hancock’s 121 in bagging the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing, making him a strong bet for next year’s London Olympics.

Rosario, 29, is actually training under the Olympic pool of athletes of the Philippine National Shooting Association under president Mikee Romero. The many-time SEA Games gold medalist is also under the sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympic Scholarship Program which is based in the UK.

Rosario’s latest score of 120 also represents a new Phl skeet record made in international competition. All his current year scores in both local and international tournaments have surpassed the Olympics minimum qualifying score (MQS) of 114 for the skeet event. A perfect skeet score involves breaking 125 targets in a two-day event.

Rosario has been dishing out record output this year, setting a new Phl record of 121 in a local skeet competition last January which he broke in a February tournament with a 122, surpassing the Beijing gold score of 121. Last April he shot a high 118 in the Sydney World Cup.

Rosario is a double gold medalist in the 2005 SEA Games in Manila, winning the individual competition then teaming up with Patricio Bernardo and Darius Hizon.