Italian shooters won three finals out of four, today, at the ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Final in Munich. Following Zublasing's and Campriani's victories in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions events, it was Andrea Amore who pocketed the 10m Air Pistol Men Gold medal.
Andrea Amore, the 25-year old Italian shooter who had won a Silver medal at this year's ISSF World Cup Stage in Granada, clinched the 10m Air Pistol Men World Cup title at the ISSF World Cup Final in Munich, today.
His victory closed a great day for the Italian team, which celebrated Petra Zublasing's Gold medal in the 50m Rifle 3 PositionsWomen event and the success of the reigning Olympic Champion Niccolo Campriani at the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men final.
Amore won a thrilling pistol final, defeating the Silver medallist of this year's ISSF World Cup Stage in Changwon (KOR) Wang Zhiwei, 25, from the People's Republic of China, and Ukraine's 30-year old finalist Oleh Omelchuk, who had qualified to participate in this Final by winning a World Cup Stage Silver medal in Fort Benning, GA, USA, last May.
The three shooters fought neck and neck for the brightest medal in the higher half of the scoreboard. The turning point of the final – the 17th competition shot - changed the placements. Omelchuck scored an 8.6 that eventually placed him in third with a total score of 180.7 points. At the same time Wang fired an 8.8, giving Amore the chance to move atop of the scoreboard with a 9.4-point shot.
After the 19th shot, with two shots left to be fired, Wang lost the focus, and closed the match with a disappointing 8.0 giving him the Silver medal with a total of 200.0 points, while Amore scored a 9.5 that placed him atop of the World Cup Final podium with an overall score of 200.8 points. His best international placement ever, which came at the end of a positive season.
“I made it to the final in last after the qualifications. But I was really keen in getting this Cup back home.” Amore said.
“After the first three shots, I zeroed in, and I went for it. As I saw that the others were not firing the best
shots, I told myself: Andrea, you can make it. I tried even harder, and I succeeded.”
“This has been a wonderful season. I placed in fifth at the Mediterranean Games, and I made it to the final at the European Championship. Then I won a Wolrd Cup Silver in Granada, and that was the turning point of my season. This World Cup Title is the best conclusion of a great year.”
“It feels great, and I don't want to stop here. I will be training, shooting and competing, this winter time, on the road to the 2014 season.” Amore concluded.
Following the three medallists, Korea's reigning Olympic Champ Jin Jongoh, did not make it to the podium, today. The 34-year old athlete fought against Amore, Wang and Omelchuck throughout the whole match, eventually finishing in fourth with 161.7 points scored out of 16 shots.
The winner of this year's ISSF World Cup Stage in Fort Benning, Will Brown of USA, 21, finished in fifth with 138.2 points, putting Vietnam's Hoang Xuan Vinh, 39, in sixth place with a score of 118.3 points.
London's Olympic Bronze medallist Andrija Zlatic, 35, from Serbia, placed in seventh with 96.4 points. Currently ranked #2 in the world in this event, Zlatic had won a World Championship Silver medal on the lines of the 1972 Olympic Shooting Range of Munich back in 2010, but his experience did not help him to stand the 10s scored by his opponents, and he had to leave the elimination-style final after the 10th shot.
The title defender, the winner of last year's ISSF World Cup Final in Bangkok Leonid Ekimov, 26, from Russia, was the first to leave today's final round, at the first elimination after shot #8. The Russian shooter marked 75.2 points to take the 8th place.