2004 Olympic Champ Zhu Qinan (CHN) secured the Gold medal, 2008 Olympic Champ Bindra (IND) won a Quota Place coming back to an ISSF World Cup final match. Olympic Quotas also went to Bulgaria’s Rizov and to Germany’s Tino Mohaupt
Two Chinese flags on the podium
The 2004 Olympic Champion and 2008 Olympic Silver medallist, China’s Zhu Qinan, won today’s 10-meter Air Rifle Men Final at the 2011 ISSF Rifle & Pistol World Cup held at the 1972 Olympic Shooting Range of Munich, Germany.
The Chinese top shooter made it to the final in the lead with a qualification score of 599 points, and since the first shots gained tenths on his followers, securing the lead atop of the final’s ranking.
Leading the final with more than one point of advantage throughout the first part of the round, Zhu jeopardized his match as he scored a frustrating 9.6 on his seventh final shot, reducing his advantage to only 0.5 points.
Zeroing in, the Chinese champion came back in the 10s, closing the final in first place with a total score of 703.0 point, winning the 13th ISSF World Cup gold medal, the third this year.
The second Chinese finalist Wang Tao, 28, coming from two World Cup bronze medals won in Sydney and Changwon, did not miss his chance, today. Qualified in fourth place with 598, just one point behind his teammate Zhu, he zeroed in and climbed up the scoreboard overtaking his opponents. Scoring 103.5 points in the final, he eventually finished in second place securing the Silver medal with a total score of 701.5 points.
Fighting for Bronze
Slovakia’s Josef Gonci, 37, a two-time “ISSF Shooter of the Year” in1998 and 1999 and one of the most experienced rifle shooters competing in the ISSF World Cup Series, walked into the medal round with 599 points, tied to China’s Zhu.
Starting his final match with two shots in the ninth ring, the Slovakian finalists dropped back in third place, and had to fight against Bulgaria’s Rizov and Hungary’s Peter Sidi to secure the Bronze medal.
Scoring 100.8 points throughout the final, the Gonci made it to the third step of the podium with a total score of 699.8 points, with only 0.5 points of advantage on his followers.
Anton Rizov, an up-and-coming shooter from Bulgaria competing for the first time in World Cup final round, entered the final match in third place with 598 points, and eventually finished in fourth place five tenths behind Gonci, with a total of 699.3 points. The 23-year old athlete, whose previous best placement had been a junior Bronze medal at the 2007 European Championship, also secured an Olympic Quota Place for his country.
With 597 qualification points, Hungary’s sharpshooter Peter SIdi had made it to the final in fifth place, where he also closed his final with a total score of 698.9 points. The 32-year old shooter, who had won a World Championship Silver medal here in Munich last year, had won a World Cup Gold medal at the second WC Stage of the year, in Changwon, Korea.
He was followed by Norway’s Are Hansen, 29, coming from a fourth place in Sidney and a sixth place in Fort Benning, this year. The Norwegian athlete landed in sixth place, after qualifying for the match with 596 points and then scoring 102.4 points throughout the ten-shot final. Three tenths behind him, with 698.1 total points, Peter Hellenbrand of The Nederland, 25, closed his third world cup final round this year in seventh place.
Olympic Champion Bindra qualifies for the 2012 Games
Passing through a shoot-off, India’s reigning Olympic Champion Abhinav Bindra made it to the final with a qualification score of 596 points + 52.6 points in the shoot-off. Starting off his final from the seventh place, he was awarded an Olympic Quota Place, securing a qualification spot for India at the next 2012 Olympic Games.
Starting off with two disappointing shots of 9.3 and 9.8 points, the Indian rifle master slid down in the eighth place. Fighting against Hansend and Hellenbrand, he scored 100.7 points in the final, eventually finishing in eighth place with a total score of 696.7 points.
“It has been a long way through;” The Indian ace said right after the match “I am happy that I finally reached this Olympic Quota Place to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games.”
“I will have to go through trials to make it to the Olympic team, I believe.” He added with a smile on his face “Now that I have a Quota, life seems easier.”
Bindra, 28, is currently ranked 31 in the ISSF world ranking for this event. After victory at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he had never made it to an ISSF final match again, finishing in 25th place at the 2010 ISSF World Championship held here in Munich.