Despite not being supported in Nigeria by corporate bodies, a Shanghai-based company, Sengled Optoelectronics Company Limited will on Wednesday January 6 at its annual exhibition in United States celebrate Aruna Quadri.
According to a press release by the company, the annual exhibition which involves customers across America will have Quadri signing autographs, taking pictures and playing exhibition matches at the colourful three-day event in the U.S.
Also, the 2014 ITTF Star Player has started the year as number 48 in the world.
In the ranking released by the world table tennis ruling body (ITTF) on January 4, Quadri who ended 2015 in the top 50 now occupies the number 48 position while his continental rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar is now ranked 29 from the 31 he finished in 2015.
Former African king, Segun Toriola is ranked 163 while no Nigerian female player made it to the top 200 while Egypt’s Dina Meshref remains Africa’s best placing 96 in the world. Germany-based Olufunke Oshonaike is the top ranked Nigerian female player now ranked 207 in the world.
Quadri gets colourful reception in U.S now 48 in the world
Meanwhile, China’s Ma Long retains his no.1 spot on the Men’s World Ranking, while Japan’s Yuya Oshima climbs from no.24 to no.18. It is the 41st time that Ma Long has been listed in top spot in the monthly publications.
In the women’s ranking, runner up at the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in December in Lisbon, Chen Meng is the player to make the most noticeable progress on the World Rankings.
It is also progress for Ding Ning. She changes places with colleague, Zhu Yuling and is now at no.2, one place behind Liu Shiwen, also from China, who retains her top position.
Former World Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali on Wednesday in a Press Statement has rejected the recent onslaught on Muslim by Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump.
Trump On Monday had called for the temporary ban on Muslims from entering the United States following a spate of violent attacks by terrorist In Europe and even on American soil following the deadly attack by a radicalised couple in San Bernadino, California, USA.
The controversial Billionaire who as been very vocal with his attacks on various ethnic nationalities is arguably the top contender for the Republican Presidential Ticket, but he as come under a lot of attack for his utterance on Muslims on monday.
The Muhammad Ali Statement didn’t mention Trump specifically but it is obvious that it was written in response to Trump’s statement.
“I am a Muslim and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino, or anywhere else in the world,” Ali said in the statement. “True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion.”
“I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people’s views on what Islam really is,” he Said.
Several World leaders and even fellow Republican and Democratic Presidential Aspirants have also condemned Trump’s Call of the ban of Muslim Entering America.
The quarterfinals schedule of the inaugural WBSC Premier12 has been determined, following an electric Opening Round (Games 1-30) that has generated record TV ratings in the host nation and concluded Sunday night with world No. 1 Japan and No. 7 Canada having gone undefeated to win their respective groups, while four of the Top 12 competing nations have been eliminated.
All four quarterfinals contests will take place on Monday in Taoyuan and Taichung (all times local):
Gm. 31: CAN (A1) vs MEX (B4) in Taichung at 12:30p
Gm. 32: CUB (A2) vs KOR (B3) in Taichung at 18:30
Gm. 33: USA (B2) vs NED (A3) in Taoyuan at 12:30p
Gm. 34: JPN (B1) vs PUR (A4) in Taoyuan at 18:30
The winner of Game 31 will face the winner of Game 33, while the winner of Game 32 will meet the winner of Game 34 in the semifinals.
Following the quarterfinals, the next phase of this new flagship global tournament will move to Japan’s Tokyo Dome, where the semifinals, bronze medal match and the Premier12 global championship finale (Games 35-38) will take place from 19-21 November.
NB: Dates for the semifinals (Games 35 on the 19th and 36 on the 20th) are subject to being changed for one another following the outcome of the quarterfinals.
Opening Round – Final Standings
Pos.Group A Wins Losses
1 Canada 5 0
2 Cuba 3 2
3 Netherlands 3 2
4 Puerto Rico 2 3
5 Chinese Taipei 2 3
6 Italy 0 5
Pos.Group B Win Losses
1 Japan 5 0
2 United States 3 2
3 S. Korea 3 2
4 Mexico 2 3
5 Venezuela 2 3
6 Dominican Rep. 0 5
All 38 games of the 2015 WBSC Premier12 are being live-streamed and free-to-view on the WBSC YouTube channel for those territories not covered by WBSC’s global broadcast partners.
Special real-time game coverage, instant replays via SnappyTV and post-game features are also being presented in collaboration with Twitter, the Official Social Media Partner of the WBSC Premier12.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced the prize money distribution for the first-ever WBSC Premier12™ global baseball championship, which will be staged from 8-21 November in Japan and Taiwan.
The WBSC will award US$ 3.8 million for the 38-game world baseball competition that will bring together the Top 12 nations (the “Premier12”) in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings.
The 2015 Premier12 winner will be awarded US$ 1.0 million, while each participating National Team will be guaranteed at least US$ 150,000 for less than two weeks of competition. The overseeing National Federations will distribute a minimum of 50 per cent of the prize money to the competing athletes.
2015 WBSC PREMIER12 PRIZE MONEY ALLOCATION
Position
Prize Money ($US)
Winner
1,000,000
2nd Place
600,000
3rd place
400,000
4th place
300,000
5-8th place
225,000 each
9-12th place
150,000 each
Total
3,800,000
The 2015 WBSC Premier12 will be the top international baseball event of the year, not only offering the largest purse but also the highest payout of world ranking points.
Earning the right to compete in the WBSC Premier12 are world No. 1 Japan, No. 2 United States, No. 3 Cuba, No. 4 Chinese Taipei, No. 5 Netherlands, No. 6 Dominican Republic, No. 7 Canada, No. 8 South Korea, No. 9 Puerto Rico, No. 10 Venezuela, No. 11 Italy and No. 12 Mexico.
Top-ranked Japan and rival South Korea will meet in the first-ever WBSC Premier12 contest on 8 November at the 40,000-seat Sapporo Dome.
Among tune-up contests for the WBSC Premier12, South Korea will host Cuba for two games to officially open the new Gocheok Sky Dome, the first domed baseball stadium in the nation, from 4-5 November.
David Haggerty was elected ITF President at the ITF Annual General Meeting in Santiago, Chile on Friday. The 58-year old from the United States succeeds Francesco Ricci Bitti, whose 16-year term as ITF President ends today. Haggerty will serve a four-year term from 2015-19.
Haggerty was elected on the second ballot with 200 votes, over Anil Khanna (IND) with 192 votes. Rene Stammbach (SUI) and Juan Margets (ESP) were eliminated on the first ballot.
Francesco Ricci Bitti has been named an Honorary Life President of the ITF.
David Haggerty, ITF
Elections also took place for the ITF Board of Directors for the period 2015-19. The following 13 candidates have been elected to the Board:
Katrina Adams (USA)
Martin Corrie (GBR)
* Sergio Elias (CHI)
Ismail El Shafei (EGY)
Bernard Giudicelli (FRA)
* Jack Graham (CAN)
* Anil Khanna (IND)
Thomas Koenigsfeldt (DEN)
Celia Patrick (NZL)
Aleksei Selivanenko (RUS)
* Rene Stammbach (SUI)
Stefan Tzvetkov (BUL)
Bulat Utemuratov (KAZ)
* returning member
Retiring Board members Roman Murashkovsky (RUS), Stuart Smith (GBR) and Georg von Waldenfels (GER) have been named Honorary Life Counsellors of the ITF.
Over 280 delegates, partners and staff attended the AGM, held at the Santiago Marriott Hotel, and hosted by the Chilean Tennis Federation under its President Jose Hinzpeter.
Haggerty is an experienced tennis administrator, having held a variety of roles within the United States Tennis Association (USTA) since 2001 and within the ITF since 2009. He served as Chairman, CEO and President of the USTA in 2013-14, and was a Vice President on the ITF Board of Directors in 2013-15. He is a former President of the Tennis Industry Association and a current board member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Away from tennis administration, Haggerty had a 30-year career in the racket industry, and is a former Chairman of Head USA, President of Penn Racquet Sports, and President of Dunlop Maxfli Slazenger Sports.
David Haggerty said: “It is a privilege and an honour to be elected President of the ITF. Tennis is the common language that binds all our member nations. It is important that we continue to listen to each other and work together to keep the ITF strong. I want to thank Francesco, who has done so much for the ITF over the last 16 years, for his leadership and friendship.”
Outgoing president Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “I would like to congratulate David Haggerty on his election as ITF President, and wish him all the best for the future. It has been my pleasure to serve as President for the last 16 years, and I am confident that under David’s leadership, the organisation can continue to grow with the support of the ITF staff and our 210 member nations.”
The AGM approved an increase in size of the Board of Directors from 13 plus the President to 15 plus the President to include athlete representation. The additional two athlete members will be appointed by the elected members of the Board and ratification will be required at the following AGM.
The assembly also approved a series of regulation changes and clarifications for the ITF’s international team competitions, Davis Cup by BNP Paribas and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas. This includes the introduction of fifth set tiebreaks in Davis Cup effective from the start of the 2016 competition.
Kosovo has become a member of the ITF for the first time after a successful application for Class B membership. There was also an increase in Class B shares for Poland and Turkey. Two Class C members, Nauru and St Vincent & The Grenadines, have been suspended.
There were ten Awards for Services to the Game approved by the AGM. Charles Trippe (GBR) was nominated by the ITF Board of Directors for his outstanding contribution over 50 years, while Bruce Elliott (AUS) was nominated by the Coaches Commission. Other awards went to Radu Albot (MDA), Sheikh Hasher Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum (UAE), Yves Freson (BEL), Tamas Hamori (HUN), Enrique Ninete (GUM), Aleksei Selivanenko (RUS), Stuart Smith (GBR) and Vladimir Voltchkov (BLR).
The 2016 ITF Annual General Meeting will be held in Zagreb, Croatia in June.
Vincent Hancock and Valerio Palmucci claimed the Skeet Men and the Skeet Men Junior titles, rocketing Italy and United States in 1st and 3rd place in the final medal standings, where the Russian Federation placed 2nd.
There couldn’t have been a better ending for the 2015 ISSF Shotgun World Championship in Lonato.
The Skeet Men Gold medal match turned into a top-level battle between France’s Anthony Terras and USA’s Vincent Hancock, with the latter prevailing over Terras after a breathtaking shoot-off. Both athletes, in fact, shuttered 16-out-of-16 final targets, and it took 8 more to witness the first mistake and award the World Championship title to Hancock.
“I feel sorry for Terras. I feel he deserved to win. Of course I would not let anybody else win if I get the chance, but he shot so good.” He then admitted. “He shot a perfect match. That’s something I have already done before, and trust me it’s not easy.”
Terras, who previously concluded the qualification round with the equalled-World Record score of 125 hits, continued his perfect streak during the semifinal, where he marked 16 points. His score was the best one among the six finalists, tied with Hancock and ahead of Italy’s Gabriel Rossetti and Denmark’s Jesper Hansen, who both qualified for the Bronze medal match.
In the 3rd place final, Rossetti, 20 years old and current holder of the European and World Junior Championship titles, bested Hansen, Silver medallist in Al Ain (UAE) during the 2015 ISSF World Cup, with a final score of 15 targets against 14.
Previously, at the end of the semifinal, Argentinian shooter Federico Gil, 6th in this event at the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games, concluded with 12 hits, placing 5th, while Azmy Mehelba of Egypt placed 6th with a final semifinal score of 11.
At the end of the qualification round, France pocketed the Team Gold medal with 364 total points; Italy followed in 2nd place with 362, while USA finished in 3rd place with 360.
Mairaj Ahmad Khan of India and Ralf Buchheim of Germany ended up winning an Olympic quota place for their country, placing 7th and 8th.
USA’s Hancock and Italy’s Palmucci win the last two World Championship Gold
In the Skeet Men Junior event, Valerio Palmucci of Italy claimed the Gold medal, prevailing over USA’s Phillip Russell Jungman in the Gold medal match. Antoher Italian junior athlete, Cristian Ciccotti, lost the Bronze medal match in favor of Nicolas Vasiliou of Cyprus. Finland’s Eetu Kallionen and France’s Dylan Chauray ended the semifnal in 5th and 6th place, respectively.
Today’s men’s and men’s junior Skeet finals concluded the 2015 ISSF Shotgun World Championship conducted in Lonato, Italy, from the 10th through the 17th of September.
In the medal standings the host country, Italy, finished atop of the overall medal standings, with 4 gold, 6 silver and 2 bronze medals (including individual, teams, senior and junior medals). The Russian Federation followed in second place with 11 medals (4 gold, 6 silver, 1 bronze), while the United States of America took the third place – thanks to today’s gold won by Vincent Hancock at the men’s skeet final – with a total of 12 medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze).
The final competition of the season will occur in Nicosia (CYP), where from October 15th to October 21st the best shooters of the 2015 ISSF season will battle for the five Shotgun World Cup Final titles.
The last day of the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France ended with a bang as seven different countries won World Championship titles.
The blue riband women’s eight from the United States won the World Championship title and extended their winning streak to a total of ten consecutive World and Olympic titles. New Zealand’s women’s eight won their first ever medal (silver) in this boat class. Canada took bronze. The men’s eight ended in a stunning victory for Great Britain who made it three World Championship titles in a row. Olympic Champion Germany nearly overtook the British in the last couple of strokes of the race. The Netherlands followed Germany into third. “We just executed our race plan,” said Great Britain’s Matthew Gotrel. “It was the best row we’ve ever had. We had a lot of pressure, but it is the best job I’ve ever had.”
photo credit Detlef Seyb/myrowingphotos.com
The men’s single sculls came down to a stunning two-way duel between Olympic Champion Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand and World Champion, Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic. Synek won in the last three metres of the race. Lithuania’s Mindaugas Griskonis took bronze. The women’s single sculls went to Kim Crow of Australia, extending her unbeaten season. Olympic Champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic was second and Jingli Duan of China was third.
Croatia’s rowing heroes Valent and Martin Sinkovic successfully defended their World Championship title in the men’s double sculls. The Sinkovic’s were pushed so hard by silver medallists, Lithuania and bronze medallists, New Zealand that they nearly broke their own World Best Time. The women’s double sculls was won for a second year in a row by New Zealand. The crew of Zoe Stevenson and Eve MacFarlane took gold ahead of Greece and Germany.
Switzerland won an impressive gold in the lightweight men’s four, dominating a boat class field that is usually known for being incredibly close. Behind the Swiss, 2014 World Champions Denmark, won silver and France took bronze.
Topping the overall medals table for the 2015 World Rowing Championships was Great Britain with a total of 15 medals, five of them gold. Last year’s overall winners New Zealand finished second with nine medals, five of them gold. Germany was third winning three gold medals and a total of nine.
photo credit Detlef Seyb/myrowingphotos.com
Earlier in the day the B-finals concluded the qualifying places for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Overall 32 countries qualified boats for the Olympic Games along with 16 for the Paralympic Games. Great Britain has qualified the most getting 12 spots out of the 14 boat classes that will be raced at the Olympics. The United States have qualified ten boats including all six of the women’s boat classes. Germany and New Zealand both qualified nine boats. Doing the best for Latin America was Cuba with two boats qualified for Rio.
There will be further Olympic qualification chances at the continental qualification regattas as well as the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in May 2016.
Six countries won World Championship titles and 13 countries took medals in the first of two days of Olympic-class finals at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France.
Two gold medals went to New Zealand with both the men’s pair Eric Murray and Hamish Bond who made it 21 on their run of winning international regattas including this being the sixth World Championship title in the pair. Second and third went to Great Britain and Serbia respectively. New Zealand’s Julia Edward and Sophie MacKenzie earned their second senior World Championship title in the lightweight women’s double ahead of Great Britain and South Africa.
2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France. (C) FISA Igor Meijer
The home team – France’s Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre – gave the local French crowd what they had hoped to see by winning the lightweight men’s double sculls. Azou and Delayre raced together at the London Olympics and they have been building up to today’s win – the first World Championship title in an Olympic boat class for France since 2010. The silver and bronze went to Great Britain and Norway respectively. “We tried to save as much energy as possible in the first half and then give everything in the second half. It’s only intense joy to finally be World Champion,” said Delayre after the race.
One of the biggest upsets of the day was when the United States women’s quadruple sculls surprised the reigning World Champions Germany for the gold. The United States’ win was the first World Championship title in this boat class for the US. Germany was second with the Netherlands in third. The men’s quadruple sculls went to Germany with Australia and Estonia taking the silver and bronze medals.
Helen Glover and Heather Stanning of Great Britain continued to dominate the women’s pair with New Zealand and the United States finishing second and third respectively. Italy won a surprise gold in the men’s four. The crew of Marco Di Costanzo, Matteo Castaldo, Matteo Lodo and Giuseppe Vicino held off Australia and Great Britain to win Italy’s first gold of this regatta.
2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France. (C) FISA Igor Meijer
Today’s B-finals had the added importance of being races for Rio Olympic qualification spots. The full Olympic qualification list will be released after racing finishes on Sunday.
The final day of racing, Sunday 6 September has A-finals beginning at 13:15 CET continuing through to 14:45 CET in the Olympic boat classes. These finals will be preceded by the B-finals starting at 12:00 CET, many of which have the added importance of being part of Rio 2016 Olympic qualification. All of the finals will be live streamed on http://www.worldrowing.com.
Experts from three continents gathered at a special two-day equine surfaces forum held at the FEI headquarters in Lausanne (SUI) last month.
A total of 36 equine, veterinary and footing specialists from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and United States came together to discuss standards for arena surfaces in Jumping.
The forum, which was opened by FEI President Ingmar De Vos, was held just over a year since the Equine Surfaces White Paper, the world’s most extensive study into the effect of arena surfaces on the orthopaedic health of sport horses, was published by the FEI.
Dr Harald Müller, FEI Director of Education and Standards, was joined on the speaker panel by John Roche, FEI Director of Jumping, John McEwen, Chair of the FEI Veterinary Committee, and Dr Mick Peterson, Executive Director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory and Mechanical Engineering Professor at the University of Maine.
Dr Lars Roepstorff, Professor of functional anatomy of domestic animals at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Dr Sarah Jane Hobbs from the University of Central Lancashire, co-authors of the Equine Surfaces White Paper, also addressed the international delegation as part of the speaker panel, which was moderated by Tim Hadaway, the FEI’s Director of Games and Championships.
Collaboration, consensus
Six years of FEI-funded research was presented at the forum, in order to form a basis for developing performance standards for Jumping surfaces.
Delegates were presented research findings that found that the performance of arena surfaces is characterised by the five parameters of impact firmness, cushioning, responsiveness, grip and uniformity, and that three components are required to ensure the performance of surfaces, namely the correct material and design, proper installation and appropriate maintenance.
A consensus emerged at the forum that procedures around these three components will evolve into standards and education that can support manufacturers, organisers and protect horses and riders.
“Everyone attending the forum has practical experience of events from all over the world, and everyone voiced the need by equestrian sport to demonstrate commitment to consistent footings at major events,” said Dr Mick Peterson. “It is critical that we retain our momentum so that we can provide consistent surfaces for all of the major events in the next year.”
“The discussions were extremely constructive and will provide the framework for a first surfaces standard to be developed, which will be a major step forward,” said Dr Lars Roepstorff, who presented the Equine Surfaces White Paper findings at the FEI Sports Forum 2014. “Everyone was very open about sharing their knowledge to promote the welfare of the horse, which is where our focus always stands.”
USA defeats Japan to win 15-nation WBSC Junior Women’s Softball World Championship as Olympic hopefuls await Tokyo 2020 decision…..
The 11th WBSC Junior Women’s Softball World Championship concluded Sunday at ASA Hall of Fame Complex with the United States defeating Japan, 8-1, in the gold medal finale to cap off an exciting event with various tournament records broken.
The 15-nation youth world championship showcased nearly 70 international contests of women’s junior softball action.
Puerto Rico finished third in the world to claim the bronze medal
Puerto Rico finished third in the world to claim the bronze medal, marking the Caribbean nation’s highest-ever finish at a WBSC Junior World Championship.
The junior women’s global softball showcase in Oklahoma City also marked the first time in history that the Colombian U-19 Women’s Team advanced to the world stage, representing another step forward and an expanded footprint for softball in South America.
Softball titans Japan had entered Oklahoma City as the defending World Champions in both the Women’s and Junior Women’s categories.
USA powered to the gold medal, as three members — Jenna Lilley, Alyssa Palomino and Sydney Romero — each electrified the crowd with home runs in finale Sunday.
In a show of international solidarity and Olympic inspiration following the medal ceremony, Japan, Puerto Rico and U.S. joined together near the podium to share their voice and desire to see a return of Olympic baseball/softball at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Baseball/softball is one of eight new sports being considered by Tokyo 2020 following Olympic Agenda 2020’s landmark ruling last December that allows Olympic hosts to propose adding sports (events) that are not currently on the Olympic programme but could help engage audiences and young people in the host nation and around the world.
“Our young athletes and future stars are excited and hoping that there is a return of baseball and softball at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020,” said WBSC Secretary General Ms. Beng Choo Low. “WBSC hopes that our sport can serve in any way possible to further connect the Games to a worldwide youth base and reinforce a commitment to opening new pathways for women in sport.”
USA Defeats Japan To Win 15-Nation WBSC Junior Women’s Softball World Championship
U-19 World Championship records broken in four categories
USA’s Palomino took down the WBSC Junior Women’s Softball Championship all-time record for runs batted in (RBI) with 27 RBI, surpassing Stacey Nuveman’s (USA) record of 18 RBIs set in 1995. Palomino also tied Nuveman’s 1995 home run record of five home runs.
Puerto Rico’s Elicia D’Orazio’s 11 stolen bases put her into the record books, bypassing Japan’s duo Emi Tsukada (1991) and Masuyama Yuri (2003), who had previously held the record with eight.
Puerto Rico’s Meghan Marie King pitched 60 2/3 innings to break the previous record held by USA’s Michele Granger (1987) who gunned 56 1/3 innings.
The WBSC Junior Women’s Softball World Championship is celebrated every two years, with the next edition to be held in July 2017 in Clearwater, Florida, United States.
USA Defeats Japan To Win 15-Nation WBSC Junior Women’s Softball World Championship
China, Serbia and Japan atop of the ISSF podium on the second-last day of the ISSF World Cup in Gabala…
Two Chinese teammates, Hui and Zhu, made it to the medals at the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Position event. Serbia’s pistol champion Zorana Arunovic pocketed the 10m Air Pistol Women gold, but said it was not a consolation for missing the Olympic quota earlier this week. In the last match of the day, it was Japan’s Nakayama who led the Trap women final to the last shot.
The People’s Republic of China seems to be unstoppable, at the ISSF World Cup in Gabala, ranking atop of the intermediate medal standing at the end of the second-last day of competitions, after 14 out of 15 events contested, far ahead of the United States.
China rockets atop of the medal standings of the ISSF World Cup in Gabala
Team China secured two more medals today – a gold and a bronze. Hui Zicheng (26) finished atop of the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions podium, leaving Austria Alexander Schmirl (25) in second, and his teammate Zhu Qinan (30) in third. Hui started-off the medal-match with one of the lowest kneeling position’s scores among the finalists, 150.0 points, but then climbed up through the prone position (306.0 points), just to give his best in the standing series, pocketing the gold with 459.8 points.
His teammate Zhu – the reigning world champion – was in the lead right until the second-last shot. Then, he fired a frustrating 7.0, sliding down in third place, where he closed the match with 446.8 points and the bronze medal. Austria’s Schmirl took advantage of Zhu’s mistake, moving up in second place, securing the silver medal with 457.9 points.
“This is the result of long trainings. Gabala’s has been a great competition, I feel really good now.” Hui said. “I am just trying to be myself through the competition, and to do my best. I am also a bit lucky, which helps. I will keep on fighting to stay on top!”
Fedor Vlasov of the Russian Federation (31) won the first Rio 2016 quota up for grabs, finishing in fifth place with 426.7 points. India’s first-time finalist Chain Singh (26) claimed the second quota spot, as he finished in eighth with 403.7 points.
10m Air Pistol Women Final
At the following 10m Air Rifle Women final, Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic pocketed another gold here in Azerbaijan after her victory at the first European Games in Baku. Arunovic shot consistently through the final, climbing the scoreboard up to the lead with 199.0 points. China’s 2014 junior world champion Lin Yuemei (21) finished in second place with 197.7 points, while Tien Chia Chen of Chinese Taipei (31), took bronze with 177.7.
Arunovic’s was a bitter-sweet victory, though. The 28-year old Serbian shooter – a two-time finalist at the 2012 Olympics – did not manage to secure a Rio 2016 Olympic quota, which was her main goal here in Gabala. “I was really disappointed with my results in the 25m Pistol event,” she said. Arunovic indeed placed in 48th at the 25m Pistol Women event four days ago, on August 10. “My teammates already have two Rio 2016 quotas in the air pistol event, and I am out of quota place, so I was focusing more on the 25-meter event, hoping to get one there. But I did really really bed. So I tried to make at least a good impression at today’s event,” added the Serbian shooter.
Rio 2016 Quota places went to the 1996 Olympic champ Olga Kousnetsova (46), who nailed the fourth place with 156.0 points, to France’s Celine Goberville, 7th with 96.6 points, and to Klaisuban Pim On of Thailand, who placed 11th – out of the final – with 382 points in the qualifications.
China, Serbia and Japan atop ISSF podium at ISSF World Cup in Gabala
Trap Women Final
Japan’s Yukie Nakayama won the gold at the women’s trap event, later in the afternoon. The 36-year old shooter also secured an Olympic quota for her country as she came atop the podium. Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yi Chun, the silver medalist, won the event’s other quota.
Nakayama closed the semi-final with no misses, entering the gold medal match with 15 hits. In the final medal match against Lin, Nakayama hit 14 out of her 15 targets.
USA’s Corey Cogdell won the bronze as she beat Italy’s Jessica Rossi in a shoot-off. Cogdell (28) and Rossi (23) were tied at the end of the bronze medal match as they had both hit 12 targets. In the following shoot-off, Cogdell beat Rossi by 5 hits to 4 hits.
The event changed its course as Russia’s Elena Tkach was disqualified due to cartridge overweight at the end of the semi-final, and moved down to 6th place. After the semifinal, Tkach (45) was supposed to face Lin in a shoot-off to decide who would enter the gold medal match. But as Tkach was disqualified, Lin automatically joined Nakayama in the gold medal match.
“I got the quota place,” said Nakayama, “that means Olympic Games. I’m very happy. It was very important this time to get a quota place.”
The ISSF World Cup in Gabala continues tomorrow, August 15 – at 18:15 local time (GMT+5), as the men’s Trap final will close the world cup stage.
World Rowing and Parmigiani Fleurier are pleased to announce the finalists for the 2015 Parmigiani Spirit Award (in alphabetical order):
– Lawrence Brittain (South Africa)
– Tsz Wai Chan (Hong Kong)
– Maciej Sciesiek (Poland)
– Tijana Stefanovic (Serbia)
– Kirsten Van Fossen (Great Britain/United States)
– Tristan Wentworth (South Africa)
Now in its third year the Parmigiani Spirit Award has seen a steady growth in interest. “We have again received numerous applications from around the world,” says FISA President Jean-Christophe Rolland. “The quality of the applications remains truly impressive and I know it will be difficult to pick the award winner from these six worthy finalists”
The next stage is to decide the winner, and this is for a select panel of judges which includes Rolland as well as Mahe Drysdale who is an Olympic Champion single sculler from New Zealand, Lenka Wech a German Olympian and World Champion and Jean-Marc Jacot, Parmigiani Fleurier’s CEO.
Each of the six finalists has unique and individual attributes, but, all have demonstrated the core values of the sport of rowing and through these values have been able to inspire exceptional success in their own as well as other people’s lives.
Lawrence Brittain is from South Africa and currently studying marketing management at the University of Pretoria. He has regularly been the men’s captain of TuksRowing where he has contributed to their success. Brittain has been part of South Africa’s national team since he was a junior; and he is now an under-23 World Champion. He successfully came back to rowing after a battle with cancer during which period he continued to help his rowing club and inspired many of his fellow athletes through his positive attitude.
Tsz Wai Chan has represented Hong Kong in rowing both at the World Rowing Junior Championships and the Asian Games. During Chan’s time studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, she always found time to coach and now Chan has chosen to work with disabled children to teach them to row.
Maciej Sciesiek is working towards a PhD in physics at the University of Warsaw in Poland. He is already published in his field and has presented his work at various conferences. Sciesiek joined the fledgling Warsaw University Boat Club and took it from six members to more than 30. This included creating the club’s first women’s eight. Sciesiek’s coach says, “He is a person who is not afraid to fail and who is willing to make sacrifices for others. (He) has opened my eyes and has already triggered a change in university rowing in Warsaw.”
Tijana Stefanovic is at the University of Belgrade in Serbia studying information technology and systems. She is involved in the Belgrade University Rowing Club not only as a rower but also has acted to help build the young club. Stefanovic has also organised several events for her faculty and is seen as a positive influence academically as well as in her rowing.
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Kirsten Van Fossen is from the United States and is currently working towards a PhD in engineering at the University of Cambridge in Great Britain. Before Cambridge, Van Fossen was at Harvard where she received a fellowship to the University of Sao Paulo. Van Fossen’s volunteer work is driven by her passion for the promotion of sustainable solutions to address global systemic problems. Van Fossen began rowing nine years ago and raced as part of the United States junior team. She currently rows at the Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club on the lightweight team.
Tristian Wentworth goes to Rhodes University in South Africa. He has completed a degree in information systems and is currently studying education because he hopes to give back to the rowing club and the community as a whole. Wentworth has been heavily involved in coaching novices as well as administrative positions in the Rhodes University Rowing Club. A member already for five years, Wentworth has helped the club grow in numbers. Wentworth recently represented South Africa at the 2015 Universiade.
The winner of the 2015 Parmigiani Spirit Award will receive a hand-crafted Parmigiani Fleurier watch and the rowing club of the winner will be presented with a custom-made new Filippi racing eight boat.
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