The 2016 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand - the first world cup stage of the year - was opened by the first medal match, the 10m Air Rifle Men final, today.
And six months after the 2015 ISSF World Cup Final, nothing much has changed: China’s 20-year old phenomenon Yang Haoran is still in the lead.
Indeed, the young shooter won today’s match, finishing in first place with 2.2 points of advantage on his teammate Cao Yifei, and setting a new Junior Final World Record of 209.8 points, a score which shuttered the 209.6 points record he had set at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Yang, ranked first in the world in this event, is the reigning World Champion, as well as the World Cup title holder, and shoots consistently on the road leading to Rio 2016. His aim is set: Yang wants to secure an Olympic title at his first participation, after winning the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing with ease.
“My goal for the 2016 world cup season is to improve my skills and to become stronger and stronger.” Yang said, commenting the match after the final.
“Today I have been a bit lucky, but at the same time it’s the hard work that pays off: I have been training a lot,” continued the Chinese athlete, who also explained how he copes with the pressure of the competitions. “I have my routines to release the stress during the finals, and when I am at home I try to do different things, such as playing the guitar, to clear my mind before a big match.”
To finish atop of today’s podium, Yang beat his experienced teammate Cao Yifei, 27, second in the world in this event. Fighting for the a spot on the podium since the first shots, Cao finished in second with 207.6 points, after loosing his gold medal chances as he shot a disappointing 9.9 at his 15th competitions shot.
Bronze went to the youngest finalist, Hungary’s Istvan Peni, 19, the 2014 Youth Olympic Games Bronze medallist. Competing in his first final in a world cup air rifle event, the Hungarian athlete sealed the third place with 186.9 points, as he was eliminated 0.1 points behind Cao Yifei after the 18th shot.
Peni upset his teammate Peter Sidi, 37, who took the fourth place with 164.5 points, and the 2004 Olympic Champion Zhu Qinan of the People’s Republic of China, 31, who took fifth place with 143.3 points.
London 2012 Olympic air rifle Silver medallist Niccolo Campriani of Italy, 28, was the first to be eliminated after the eighth shot, with a final score of 79.9 points, which placed him in 8th. Alexander Schmirl of Austria, 26, left the final right after him, taking the seventh place with 101.4 points after a shoot-off against Ukraine’s 22-year old Serhiy Kulish (which he lost 8.7 to 10.1 points). Kulish felt the pressure of the tie-breaker, and was eliminated two shots later, taking the sixth place with 122.6 points after the 12th shot.
The ISSF World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, where 331 athletes from 49 countries are competing in the ten Rifle and Pistol Olympic events from the 1st through the 9th of March, will continue today with the 10m Air Rifle Women final match, scheduled at 1:30 PM. Follow the match live on
www.issf-sports.org