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Olympian Jayson Valdez grateful to shooting legend Tac Padilla for support

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MANILA -- Air-rifle shooter Jayson Valdez is fortunate to have a sports legend supporting his goals, including qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.Valdez calls multi-awarded shooter Nathaniel &quot;Tac&quot; Padilla &quot;dad&quot; for being one of his biggest patrons.It was Padilla who encouraged father-coach, three-time Southeast Asian gold medalist Julius Valdez to train the Pinoy marksman in shooting.&quot;Sobrang lapit namin kay &#x27;Dad.&#x27; Sobrang laki ng itinulong niya sa family ko,&quot; the younger Valdez said during the Philippines Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday.&quot;Nung nasa shooting team na ko sir, lagi niya akong ini-invite sa bahay niya. May brother and sisterhood kami kasama ng daughter niya kaming mga shooter. Lagi kaming pumupunta sa bahay niya, from then on &#x27;Dad&#x27; na ang tawag namin sa kanya.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/19/21/philippines-adds-another-tokyo-olympian-as-shooter-jayson-valdez-qualifies">Philippines adds another Tokyo Olympian, as shooter Jayson Valdez qualifies</a></li></ul>Valdez said Padilla, a five-time Southeast Asian gold medalist in rapid pistol, provided him equipment and even allowance when he competed. &quot;From the start siya talaga ang ang sumu-support sa akin. Binigyan niya ako ng gamit, binigyan niya ako ng baril. Every competition proper lagi niya akong binibigyan ng lahat ng kailangan ko, allowance at lahat,&quot; he said.Valdez became the 12th Filipino athlete to officially qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The 25-year-old earned a slot in the men’s air rifle 10-meter event through the quota system implemented by the Munich-based International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF). He joins Olympic qualifiers boxers Nesthy Petecio, Irish Magno, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Felix Marcial, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo, skateboarder Margielyn Didal, taekwondo jin Kurt Bryan Barbosa, rower Cris Nievarez, and weightlifters Hidilyn Diaz and Erleen Ann Ando. Valdez also credited Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero for helping Filipino shooters during his tenure as former chief of the Philippine National Shooting Association.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/22/21/kurt-barbosa-qualifies-tokyo-olympics">Another Pinoy makes it to Tokyo Olympics, as taekwondo&#x27;s Kurt Barbosa qualifies</a></li></ul>&quot;Nag-PM din sa akin si Sir Mike nung midnight (after kong mag-qualify). Kinongratulate niya ako. He really helped shooti,ng, ibinili niya kami ng world-class electronic machine. Sobrang laki ang naitulong sa amin ni Sir Mike,&quot; he said.Valdez and his team have now laid down his training plans toward the Tokyo Games.&quot;We have scheduled what we&#x27;re going to do everyday before the Games, the psychologist, nutritionist and physical training ko. Nilalatag na nilang lahat. Sabi nila just focus on training,&quot; he said.He added that he has maintained his physical conditioning, thanks to self-training even during the lockdown.&quot;Hindi ko napabayaan ang physical conditioning ko. After March 15 nung lockdown, two weeks after that sabi ko kailangan ko maging physically fit at the same time sharp &#x27;yung mental skills ko,&quot; he said.<div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1710977" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Air-rifle shooter Jayson Valdez is fortunate to have a sports legend supporting his goals, including qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.

Air-rifle shooter Jayson Valdez is fortunate to have a sports legend supporting his goals, including qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.