10m Air Pistol Women preview – Asian shooters in the lead

Time for training, this afternoon, at the Singapore Sports School, where the 10m Air Pistol Women event, the second shooting competition of the Youth Olympic Games, will take place tomorrow at 12.00 AM.

Twenty shooters from all the five continents are going to compete in tomorrow’s match, trying to secure the first women YOG medal in shooting events.

Starting with the qualification series at 9 AM, the top 8 competitors will proceed to the ten-shot medal match at 12, when their final scores will be added to the qualification scores to decide the podium placements.

Starting between the favourites: China's Fang Xue the Silver medal winner of the 2009 Asian Championships of Doha. The Chinese teenager has been gaining confidence throughout the 2010 ISSF shooting season, competing in the ISSF World Cup Series again older athletes in the open category.

Xue will meet again Kim Jang Mi, a skilled Korean shooter who had finished in third place behind her at the last Asian Championship, in Doha, and that has proved to be a competitive finalist more then once, in the last two seasons.

A 17-year old shooter form Italy, Chiara Marini, will try to steal the show to the Asian contenders. The Italian athlete, the top-ranked shooter among tomorrow’s European participants, comes from a seventh place at the last 2010 European Championship in Meraker, and a fair placement in the top-40 at the 2010 ISSF World Championship in all shooting events of Munich.

Hala Abdel Rahman of Egypt, the top competitor of the 2010 African YOG qualification championship, Mariana Nava of Mexico, qualified through the 2010 Confederation of the Americas Championship and Australia’s Emily Esposito (qualified in 2009 through the Oceania Championship) will try to surprise the audience and to find a spot on the first ladies’ shooting podium of the Youth Olympic Games.