The best Shotgun shooters of the world meet in Maribor, Slovenia, from the 21st through the 25th of September, for the 2012 ISSF World Cup Final. The reigning Olympic Champions, the London 2012 Olympic medallists and the title defenders will face there the best 2012 World Cup shooters in the last match of the season.
The 2012 ISSF Shotgun World Cup Final is yet to start in Maribor, Slovenia, where the London 2012 Olympic Champions will meet the best shooters of the world in the last international competition of the year, from Friday the 21st to Tuesday the 25th September.
Only the bests!
Fifty-seven international shooters coming from 28 countries have confirmed their presence on layouts of the Gaj Maribor Shooting Club. Only the bests are here: the eight top shooters qualified throughout this year’s ISSF World Cup Series will meet the defending champions, and the medallists of the 2012 London Olympics, in the most exciting match of the year.
The Trap Men Olympic Champion Giovanni Cernogoraz of Croatia, shooting just a few kilometres far from his home, will meet the 2012 Olympic Silver and Bronze medallists Fabbrizi of Italy and Aldeehani of Kuwait, as well as the title defender, the two-time Olympic Champ Michael Diamond of Australia. Diamond, who has finished in fourth in London, is looking for the fifth World Cup title if his career, on the layouts of Maribor’s shooting range. The 2004 Olympic Champion Alexy Alipov of Russia, the 2010 World Cup Final winner Tuzun of Turkey and the Spanish shooter Jesus Serrano (who has won two World Cup stages in Maribor) will be part of the match. Two home shooters, the wildcards Bostjan Macek and Matej Znidercic will be the flag bearers of Slovenia at the competition.
Italy’s Jessica Rossi, the 20-year Olympic Champion, will be the protagonist of the Trap Women event. The young Italian shooter comes from an outstanding Olympic success, and walks into the World Cup Final range with a new World and Olympic record of 99 hits out of 100 targets. Rossi will try to defend the title she won in Al Ain in 2011, facing the two-time Olympic Silver medallist Zuzana Stefecekova of Slovakia, and London’s Olympic Bronze Delphine Reau of France. But they won’t be alone, in Maribor: the 2008 Olympic Champ Satu Makela-Nummela of Finland, the 2011 European Champion Fatima Galvez of Spain, and the 2008 US Olympic Bronze medallist Corey Cogdell will be among the eleven shooters trying to secure the brightest medal in this event.
2012 Olympic Silver and Bronze medallists Hakan Dahlby of Sweden and Vasily Mosin of Russia will meet the 2011 ISSF World Cup Final title defender, the Indian hero Ronjan Sodhi, at the Double Trap Men match. They will face the two-time ISSF World Champion Joshua Richmond of USA, as well as the Olympic medallists Francesco D’Aniello of Italy and Fehaid Akdeehani of Kuwait, as well as the Russian experts Vitaly Fokeev and Mikhail Leybo.
The best Skeet Men shooter of the world, USA’s Vincent Hancock, will be competing at this year’s ISSF Word Cup Final in Maribor. The 23-year old athlete, coming from two Olympic titles won in Beijing and London, has already won on Maribor’s layouts at the 2009 ISSF World Championship. This time, he will face the Danish Olympic Silver medallist Andres Golding, ad the 2012 Olympic Bronze Nasser Al-Attiya of Qatar, both ready to challenge him. The title defender, Saeed Almaktoum (UAE) – who had won the 2011 World Cup Final in Al Ain – will try his best to confirm last year’s excellent performances. On their way to the podium, they will meet the World Record holder Efthimios Mitas of Greece, as well as the 2000 Olympic Champion Mikola Milchev of Ukraine and the 2008 Olympic Bronze medallist Anthony Terras of France. The Russian expert Valery Shomin (4th at the London Games) and the Cypriot Champ Georgios Achilleos (11th at the Games) will be part of the match.
The Skeet Women title defender and Olympic Champion Kimberly Rhode (USA) won’t be in Maribor. Taking some time off from competitions, she leaves the floor open to London’s Silver and Bronze medallists, China’s Wei Ning and Slovakia’s Danka Bartekova. They will take part in a competition that is announced to be tough. Germany’s 2008 Olympic Bronze Christine Wenzel will be looking for her second ISSF World Cup Final title (she won in 2009), as well as the 26-year old Thai champion Sutiya Jiewchaloemmit, who had won an ISSF World Championship Silver medal here in Maribor in 2009. Chian’s Zhang Donglian, third at the last World Cup Final in Al Ain and winner of the 2011 ISSF World Cup Stage held here in Maribor, has also confirmed her presence, and her desire to go for a medal.
The Opening Ceremony of the 2012 ISSF World Cup Final will take place on Friday the 21st, at 18.00, at the Gaj Maribor Shooting Club. The first final match (Trap Women) is scheduled to take place on Saturday the 22nd. Check out the schedule and follow the event at www.issf-sports.org