Published on 13 Jun 2009

Trap Men – Olympic protagonists face to face.

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Marco Dalla Dea

Six of the best Trap shooters of the World met on today’s final round at the ISSF World Cup in Minsk. The two-time Olympic Champion Michael Diamond and the two-time Olympic Silver medallist Giovanni Pellielo fought for Gold, while two World Champions battled for Bronze, in the last final match of this World Cup stage in Belarus.

The Olympic Silver medallist of Athens and Beijing Giovanni PELLIELO of Italy won the Trap Men final round of the third leg of the 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Cup. The Italian shooter did not miss any of the 25 final targets, ending up on the highest step of the podium with a score of 147 (122+25) hits.

“It hasn’t been easy, because of this weather… We have been shooting under this cold rain all day long!” commented PELLIELO about today’s competition, which took place in difficult weather conditions. “I’ve just changed my shotgun, and I though it was going to take longer to get used to the new one. Actually, all run smoothly, and I easily found the new set-up, as you have seen!”

Next of holding the current World Record, PELLIELO is one of the most active World Cup shooters. Within the last 19 years, the Italian shooter has indeed won ten World Cup Gold medals, and a record number of 7 ISSF World Cup Finals; “I am the World Cup Final title holder, so I would have been qualified for this year’s World Cup Final anyway. But it’s a great satisfaction to walk into the Final with some good points gained throughout this year’s Series.” Conclude Pellielo, who will not take part in the last World Cup Stage in San Marino, but will compete at the World Cup Final, next November.

During today’s final, the PELLIELO faced the two times Olympic Champion Michael DIAMOND of Australia, 37, who won today’s Silver with a total score of 144 (123+21) hits. The two shooters had met also on the last Olympics’ final of Beijing, when the Australian athlete had then placed in fourth. The

The Australian champion walked into today’s final match with the highest qualification score of 123 hits. Then, he had a few hesitations at the beginning of the final round, when the rain became stronger, and dropped three out of the first six targets, dropping in the scoreboard.

Bronze went to the 2006 World Champion, India’s Manavjit Singh SANDHU, who won a shoot-off for the podium against Kuwait’s ALMUDHAF 5 to 4 hits.

SANDHU, 32-year old, started the final match with a qualification score of 121 hits, shot 21 targets in the final and ended up in third with a total score of 142 +5 targets, outdoing the 2002 World Champion Khaled ALMUDHAF, who placed in fourth with 142 +4 targets.

Ireland’s Derek BURNETT closed the match in fifth, with a total score of 141 targets, followed by the winner of the last World Cup stage of Munich, Italy’s Massimo FABBRIZI, sixth with 139 targets.