The Rapid Fire Pistol event was ruled by the Chinese team, that placed three athletes on the podium. India was represented in the final by two shooters.
It was China’s day today, at the ISSF World Cup in Rifle and Pistol events in Sydney. The Chinese team ruled the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol men event, placing three athletes on the podium to win Gold, Silver and Bronze.
It was a new face to win the Gold medal. Li Yuehong, 20-year old, today’s youngest finalist, had never participated in an ISSF international competition, before. The young shooter took the second spot on the start list thanks a qualification score of 580 points, placing him four points behind his expert teammate Jian Zhang.
Shooting four great series, Li scored 201.4 points throughout the final, first tying and than overtaking Zhang, and ended up in first place with a total score of 781.4 points which gave him the Gold medal.
Missing more than usual, the ISSF World Cup Silver medallist of Milan 2009 Zhang Jian scored 191.9 points throughout today’s final series. Since the first series, when he scored twice in the eighth ring, he lost his margin over Li Yuehong, sliding then down in second place. The 24-year old athlete eventually won Silver with a total score of 775.9 points.
The two Chinese shooters were reached on the podium by their titled teammate Zhang Penghui, 32-year old, from Nanjing. The 2006 World Champion qualified for the match in fourth place with 577 points, and scored 194.2 points during the final, ending up in third place with a total of 771.2 points to win his twelfth World Cup medal since 1998.
The final round was than closed by a shoot-off between the two Indian teammates Gurpreet Singh and Pemba Tamang, who had closed the round with an equal score of 767.7 points. It was the 22-year old Singh to win the duel for the fourth spot by shooting-off Tamang 50.9 to 47.1 points.