SINGAPORE - The Republic's top rifle and pistol specialists' Tokyo 2021 prospects have been given a shot in the arm after the sport's governing body International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) announced on Tuesday (May 26) an updated qualification system for the upcoming Olympics.
It revealed that the allocation of 12 quota places (one for each individual event) will be based on world rankings as of March 31, 2020, as well as points earned at the final World Cup event to be held next March or April.
This is markedly different from the ISSF's announcement on its Instagram page on March 30, when it indicated that the quota places would be awarded based on world rankings as of May 31, 2020 to the highest-ranked shooter who has not yet qualified in any event, provided his or her country has not secured an Olympic berth in that event.
The earlier system would have seen Slovenia's world No. 7 Ziva Dvorsak edging Singapore's world No. 10 Martina Veloso in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions, and Qatar's world No. 19 Aldana Saad Almubarak pip the Republic's world No. 22 Teh Xiu Hong in the women's 25m pistol.
As such, the Singapore Shooting Association (SSA), who appealed against the earlier system alongside some other countries , welcomed the change in the qualification process.
SSA high performance manager Jeanine Heng told The Straits Times: "This is extremely good news for us as our girls are quite high up in the world rankings.
"Instead of losing the spot instantly, we now have one more chance to fight for the quota.
"The World Cup in New Delhi last March was supposed to be the last event to secure world ranking points for Olympic qualification and it was cancelled due to the coronavirus. So, we believe it would be most fair to all shooters to have one more event to try and qualify."
A win in the World Cup event next March or April will likely see Veloso and Teh earn Olympic berths, although they are also wary about a complicated ranking system that takes into account scores from the qualifiers.
Veloso, a 20-year-old Commonwealth Games champion gunning for an Olympic debut, said: "I'm glad that the chance to fight for a ticket to Tokyo 2021 via the world rankings has been reinstated. Once we are able to resume training, we will try our best to achieve more sporting glory for Singapore."
While Heng acknowledged that the duo are in a strong position to qualify, she also noted that shooters from other countries may have some advantage in terms of training during the coronavirus pandemic.
She said: "Some countries have already opened up and their shooters have resumed training. Some countries have less strict firearms regulations and are able to train at home. For example, we know of Indian shooters who have 10m ranges in their backyards.
"We are not complaining, but this is the reality, and we will try our best to find a way to overcome the challenges when we are able to resume training and competitions."
Last November, Tessa Neo secured a Tokyo Olympics quota spot for Singapore after winning silver at the Asian Shooting Championship.
The SSA has said that they would select a representative from its top rifle shooters Jasmine Ser, Ho Xiu Yi, Adele Tan, Neo and Veloso based on scores from three or more qualifiers including the H&N Cup in Munich, Germany, which Tan won with a national record 252.7 points.
Meanwhile in badminton, the Badminton World Federation announced on Wednesday that shuttlers will keep ranking points they earned during the original Olympic qualification period up until the All England Open in March.
Competitions rescheduled for later this year will not count towards qualification, and only the next year's edition of each event postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic will offer points towards the Race to Tokyo rankings.
Singapore's Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min are 16th and 17th respectively on the men's and women's Race to Tokyo list and on track to qualify for the Games as one of the top 38 players in their field.
