China Secures Two Air Rifle Gold Medals On ISSF World Cup Bangkok First Competition Day

Yang Haoran and Yi Siling won the 10m Air Rifle Men and Women finals, during the first competition day of the 2016 ISSF World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, where 331 athletes from 49 countries are competing in the 10 Rifle and Pistol Olympic shooting events from the 1st through the 9th of March.

The Chinese team celebrated two 10m Air Rifle Gold medals on the first competition day of the 2016 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Bangkok, yesterday.

Six months after winning the 2015 ISSF World Cup Final, China’s 20-year old phenomenon Yang Haoran is still in the lead. Indeed, the young shooter won today’s 10m Air Rifle Men match, finishing in first place with 2.2 points of advantage on his teammate Cao Yifei. Yang also set a new Junior Final World Record of 209.8 points, a score that shuttered the 209.6 points record he had set at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

The Chinese shooter, ranked first in the world in this event, is the reigning World Champion, as well as the World Cup titleholder, and shoots consistently on the road leading to Rio 2016. His aim is set: Yang wants to secure an Olympic title at his first participation, after winning the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing with ease.

“My goal for the 2016 world cup season is to improve my skills and to become stronger and stronger.” Yang said, commenting the match after the final. “Today I have been a bit lucky, but at the same time it’s the hard work that pays off: I have been training a lot.”

To finish atop of yesterday’s podium, Yang beat his experienced teammate Cao Yifei, 27, second with 207.6 points, and today’s youngest finalist, Hungary’s Istvan Peni, the 2014 Youth Olympic Games bronze medallist. The 19-year old shooter sealed the third place with 186.9 points.

Peni upset his teammate Peter Sidi, 37, who took the fourth place with 164.5 points, and the 2004 Olympic Champion Zhu Qinan of the People’s Republic of China, 31, who took the fifth place with 143.3 points. London 2012 Olympic air rifle silver medallist Niccolo Campriani of Italy, 28, was the first to be eliminated at the beginning of today’s final, placing in 8th with a final score of 79.9 points. Alexander Schmirl of Austria, 26, left the medal match right after him, taking the 7th place with 101.4 points after a shoot-off against Ukraine’s 22-year old Serhiy Kulish (which he lost 8.7 to 10.1 points). Kulish felt the pressure of the tiebreaker, and was eliminated two shots later, taking the sixth place with 122.6 points after the 12th shot.

Two hours later, it was another Chinese shooter who secured the brightest medal at the 10m Air Rifle Women final. The reigning Olympic Champion Yi Siling, 26 – the current world record holder – finished atop of the podium with an unbeatable score of 207.7 points.

yesterday’s turned out to be Yi’s seventh world cup gold medal since she started competing internationally, in 2009. Ranked second in the world, she is looking forward to Rio, where she hopes to defend her Olympic title.

“Rio 2016 is in my sights,” she said after today’s final. “I really have no secrets: I am training hard, and I am really self confident, both in the sport and in my private life. That’s why I think I can make it: I will work through the season to improve my chances of victory.”

Austria’s 23-year old Olivia Hofmann, ranked 21st in the world, secured the Silver with 205.4 points, claiming her first world cup medal at her second world cup final match participation.

Duelling for a spot on the podium, Hofmann beat Singapore’s Olympian Ser Xiang Wei Jasmine, 25, who took the Bronze with a final score of 184.6 points as she fired a disappointing 9.1 on her last shot.

India’s finalist Pooja Ghatkar, 27, at her first experience in a world cup medal match, finished in fourth place with 164.0 points, just 0.8 points far from the podium. Following the Indian shooter, Ho Xiu Yi, the 16-year old first-time participant from Singapore, dropped out of the final with 143.5 points, taking the 5th place. Stine Nielsen of Denmark (25), Ivana Andjusic Maksimovic of Serbia (25) and Sarah Scherer of USA (25), placed in 6th, 7th and 8th, with 122.0, 100.0 and 79.6 points, respectively

The 2016 ISSF World Cup in Bangkok (THA) – which sees 331 athletes from 49 countries competing in the 10 Rifle and Pistol Olympic events from the 1st through the 9th of March – will continue today (March 4) with the 50m Pistol Men and the 25m Pistol Women finals, to be conducted at 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM (UTC+7), respectively. All finals will be broadcasted live on http://www.issf-sports.org

China Rockets Atop Of The Medal Standings Of The ISSF World Cup In Gabala

China rockets atop of the medal standings of the ISSF World Cup in Gabala (AZE) after 11 out 15 events

Chinese shooters won two more medals at the ISSF Wolrd Cup in Gabala, Azerbaijan, lifting their team atop of the intermediate medal standings. Kim Chongyong of the Republic of Korea claimed the men’s 10m Air Pistol gold, his second medal in three days, and an Olympic quota for his country.

The sixth competition day of the 2015 ISSF Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun World Cup in Gabala saw the Chinese team rocketing atop of the intermediate medal standings thanks to the gold and silver medals won by Chen and Yi at the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions final, and the success of the up-and-coming Korean athlete Kim Chongyong, the 18-year old winner of the men’s 10m Air Pistol medal match.

China earns two more golds and USA’s 2008 Olympic Champ Eller comes back atop of the podium at the ISSF World Cup in Gabala

Chen Dongqi (26), a two-time world cup bronze medallist, secured the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions gold medal at the end of a great final. The Chinese athlete finished the kneeling series in the lead with 152.9 points, and continued shooting solidly through the prone series, keeping the lead with 308.4 points. Holding on the first place through the standing series, she won the match with 456.2 points, and 0.8 points of advantage on her teammate Yi Siling (26). Yi, the 2012 air rifle Olympic champion, took silver with 455.4 points, pocketing her second world cup medal of the season in this event, after the bronze she had collected in Munich, earlier this year.

24-year old Anna Zhukova of the Russian Federation followed the two Chinese athletes, claiming bronze with 444.8 points. The two Rio 2016 Olympic quotas up for grabs at today’s final went to Poland’s Sylwia Bogacka (33), sixth with 411.6 points, and to Switzerland’s Jasmin Mischler (23), seventh with 400.0 points.

“I was feeling nervous during the competition, but I tried to calm down by telling myself that I could make it. And luckily it went that way.” Chen said, wearing the gold medal. “I am very happy now, even if I was a bit stressed during the match, I felt really great in the days leading to this world cup stage. Today’s result proves that we have been working in the right direction to prepare the competition.” Chen added.

Claiming his second medal in just three days, the Republic of Korea’s Kim Cheongyong (18) won gold at the following men’s 10m Air Pistol final . The medal also gained him an Olympic quota place for his country. Last Tuesday, Kim had also won the 50m Pistol bronze.

The young Korea shooter closed on 199.0 points, overcoming Kazakhstan’s Vladimir Issachenko, the silver medalist, just before the final shot. In the second part of the final, Issachenko (32) had mostly been in the lead. On the second-last shot, though, he hit a 7.8. that let Kim take over Issachenko, and the first spot.

China rockets atop of the medal standings of the ISSF World Cup in Gabala

Issachenko eventually came in 2nd, just 1.6 points behind Kim, with 197.4 points. Slovakia’s Juraj Tuzinsky, who had been leading the final in its early stages, finally took the bronze (178.9 points), his first world cup medal.

Next to Kim’s Korea, the other quota-winning country was Kazakhstan as Issachenko and Rashid Yunusmetov (5th with 138.6 points) secured two tickets to Rio2016 for their country.

“I feel very good,” siad gold medalist Kim. “I was very focused on the competition and I am happy that I secured a Rio 2016 quota to my country. Now I want to go home, and relax.”

Now that 11 out of 15 events has been conducted here in Gabala, the People’s Republic of China is currently atop of the intermediate medal standings with 5 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze, followed by USA with 2 golds and 2 silvers, and by the Republic of Korea, with 1 gold, 2 silvers and 1 bronze.

The event is due to continue tomorrow with three more medal matches in the schedule. The competition day will kick-off with the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions final at 13.15, and will continue with the women’s 10m Air Pistol and the women’s Trap finals at 15.00 and 18.15 (GMT+5), respectively. Finals will be broadcasted live on http://www.issf-sports.org

Last 2014 ISSF World Cup Stage in Rifle, Pistol And Shotgun Events Closes In Beijing

Photo credit ISSF

Today’s Skeet Men Final won by Kuwait’s Abdullah Alrashidi closed the last leg of the 2014 ISSF World Cup Series, held in Beijing, China.

The last leg of this year’s ISSF World Cup Series closed in Beijing, today and The People’s Republic of China finished atop of the medals standings. Six records were also set here.

The 2008 Olympic Shooting Range was used and there were 550 athletes coming from 35 countries competing in 15 Olympic Shooting events in the disciplines of Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun.

The host country, the People’s Republic of China, finished atop of the overall medals standings of the event, with an impressive tally of 17 medals, including 4 Gold, 8 Silver and 5 Bronzes.

The Italian team followed in second place, with 3 Gold medals won in Rifle and Pistol events, plus 2 Silver and 2 Bronze pocketed in Shotgun events.

The Russian Federation took the third place, with 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.

These event had all the top shooters of the world competing here, and Beijing’s shooting range is also regarded as one of the best facilities around the world: no surprises then if excellent scores were recorded during this world cup stage.

Valerio Luchini of Italy set a new Skeet Men World Record of 125 hits out of 125 targets, while his teammate Riccardo Mazzetti established a new 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men Final World Record with 35 hits.

China’s Yi Siling marked a new Final World Record of 211.0 points at the 10m Air Rifle Women event, and she was followed by her teammate Haoran Yang who shot a new Final World Record Junior of 209.1 points at the 10m Air Rifle Men event.

Beijing’s World Cup Stage closed this year’s regular world cup season. The qualified athletes will participate in the ISSF World Cup Finals, to be held in Gabala, Azerbaijian, from the 21st through the 28 of October.

Find the list of all the athletes qualified to participate in the 2014 ISSF World Cup Finals here: http://www.issf-sports.org/competitions/wcfqualification/qualifications.ashx

ISSF – INTERNATIONAL SHOOTING SPORT FEDERATION