Gold and Silver to China
China’s Wu Liuxi, the title defender,
walked into the final hall with an equalled World Record of 400 points, and
with one point of head start on
her teammate Yin Wen. Tables turned right after the first final shot, turning
the Air Rifle Women match in a breathtaking neck and neck round.
Wu fired a disappointing first shot of 9.6 that could not stand Yin’s 10.7: the two shooters found themselves
almost tied in first and second place, and from there on the battled for Gold
on the edge of tenths, gaining the applauses of the numerous Chinese
spectators.
The last two shots resolved the final in
favour of Wu, who moved in first place winning the Gold medal by a slight
margin of 0.5 points over her teammate Yin. With a total score of 503.5 points
(400+103.5), Wu confirmed the title she had won at last year’s World Cup Final
in Bangkok.
27-year old Yin Wen closed the match in
second place, with a total score of 503.0 points (399+104.0). She had never
participated in a World Cup Final in this event, but she was considered one of
the favourite to step on Wuxi’s podium, after she had won this year’s World Cup
Stages in Changwon and Beijing.
Bronze to Galkina (RUS)
Bronze medal went to the 2008 Olympic
Silver medallist Lioubov Galkina of Russia, who closed the match in fourth
place with a total score of 500.0 points (399+101.0), three points behind the
two Chinese shooters. Galkina had placed in second at last year’s World Cup
Final in Bangkok.
Ukraine’s Darya Shytko ended up in fourth
place with 499.9 points, finishing just one tenth of a point far from the
podium. The 23-year old Rifle shooter, Olympian of Beijing 2008, had never
participated in an ISSF World Cup Final before. She qualified for the first
time by winning this year’s World Cup Stage in Munich.
Climbing to the fourth place, Shytko
overtook the third Chinese finalist, 20-year old Yi Siling, winner of Silver
medal at this year’s World Cup in Munich, Yi came from a qualification of 397
points, and scored 102.5 points during the final, ending up in fifth place with
a total of 499.5 points.
Lee Da Hye, 22-year old, from Korea, closed
the match in sixth place with 497.2 points, followed by Italy’s Petra
Zublasing, 20, today’s youngest finalist, who finished in seventh with a total
of 496.3 points. The 2004 Asian Champion, Suma Shirur of India, place in eighth
with a total score of 496.8 points.
Published on 26 Oct 2009
10m Air Rifle Women – Wu and Yin duelled to the last shot
Marco Dalla Dea
The first final match of the 2009 ISSF World Cup Final in Rifle and Pistol events, the 10m Air Rifle Women competition, turned into a duel between the two Chinese teammates Wu Liuxi and Yin Wen. Competing in front of their spectators, the two shooters fought right to the last shot in a breathtaking neck and neck duel.
