Juniors of the World Shine with High Marks

Norway’s Kim Andre Lund kept the competition at bay with 1166 points in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men Junior event.  Illia Charheika of Belarus scored the silver medal with 1165 points and 59 center hits.  Yet the major attention winner of the event was Serhiy Kulish as he notched his second World Championship medal.  Earlier in the week, Kulish proudly accepted a silver medal for his performance in 10m Men’s Air Rifle Junior.  Kulish was eight center hits shy of Charheika with 1165 points and 51 bulls-eye hits.   

Though the 25m Pistol Men Junior event is not one of fifteen Olympic shooting events, the competition delivered impressive results.  France’s Florian Fouquet scored 581 total points--290 in the precision stage and 291 in the rapid stage to wow the crowd.  In silver was China’s Zhiguo Zhou with 580 total points.  Finally, Alexander Alifirenko of Russia, the 2009 European Championship gold medalist, scored 578 points for the bronze medal.  

Mongolia’s Khongorzul Tsagaandalai won the 10m Air Pistol Women Junior competition by one point--quite the feat considering that she began shooting in 2007.  Tsagaandalai and silver medalist Alisson Gallien of France, both scored ten center hits, but Tsagaandalai’s fourth series of 95 points put her one above Gallien.  Tsagaandalai finished with 382 for the gold medal and Gallien scored 381 points.  The bronze medalist, Yeji Kim of Korea, was just shy with 380 points and an impressive 14 center hits. 


Photo - Serhiy Kulish (UKR) in action - ©2010 Mike Hecker