Finland’s Marjut Heinonen and Eetu Kallioinen celebrate their victory.
Lusail: Finland’s Marjut Heinonen and Eetu Kallioinen claimed the Skeet Mixed Team world title at the ISSF World Championship in Lusail yesterday, holding off a determined challenge from Peru’s Daniella Borda Olaechea and Nicolas Pacheco Espinosa. China 1 completed the podium with bronze at the Lusail Shooting Range.
The final delivered a close contest between Finland and Peru, with both teams trading targets throughout the competition. Finland eventually came out on top with 50 hits, just one ahead of Peru, who finished with 49 in a gripping fight for gold.
Heinonen and Kallioinen combined for a winning performance, with Kallioinen contributing 27 hits and Heinonen adding 23. The Finnish pair maintained their composure through the closing stages to secure the world title.
Peru’s Borda Olaechea and Pacheco Espinosa pushed the champions all the way. Pacheco recorded 25 hits, while Borda added 24, leaving their team just one target short of gold with a total of 49.
China 1, represented by Jiang Yiting and Lyu Jianlin, took bronze with 43 hits. Jiang contributed 23 targets and Lyu added 20.
India 1, featuring Raiza Dhillon and Mairaj Ahmad Khan, finished fourth with 19 hits. Dhillon recorded seven, while Khan contributed 12.
Hosts Qatar narrowly missed out on a place in the final, finishing seventh in the qualification round with 144 hits. The home team, represented by Reem Ghanem Al-Sharshani and Rashid Saleh Al-Athba, finished with identical scores of 72 targets each. Reem hit 23, 25 and 24 targets across the three rounds, while Rashid recorded 25, 23 and 24, leaving Qatar just outside the top six.
