Philippine Olympic shooter Eric Ang has been under rigorous training as he prepared himself to bag an Olympic medal in the Beijing Games this August, local newspaper reported Wednesday.

Ang, 37, will compete with 32 others in Trap Men, a game largely dominated by Europeans and Americans.

"I know that winning a medal is a tall order, but my confidence has been tremendously boosted by my recent performance in Germany, " Ang, the oldest among the country's 14 athletes qualified for Beijing Games, told Philippine Daily Inquirer.

In Germany, Ang hit a Philippine clay shooting record of 121 birds to finish in a tie for sixth place with Athens Olympic gold medalist Alexey Alipov of Russia, the report said.

Ang works out at least 25 hours a week, engaging in cross-training apart from his usual drills at the shooting range in Manila and the northern city of Laoag, it said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2008)