Kuwait’s Al-Faihan, Italy’s Rossi shine in Doha

Doha: Kuwait’s Abdulrahman Al-Faihan claimed the Trap Men world title at the ISSF Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun World Championship in Doha yesterday, prevailing in a dramatic shoot-off against India’s Vivaan Kapoor after both athletes finished the final with 29 hits.

Al-Faihan took gold with three hits in the shoot-off, while Kapoor secured silver with two. China’s Qi Ying completed the podium with 22 hits. All three medallists – representing Kuwait, India and China – also secured Olympic quota places for their respective National Olympic Committees for LA28.

The final delivered a close contest between Al-Faihan and Kapoor, who remained level at 29 targets after the regular competition. The shoot-off decided the gold medal, with the Kuwaiti athlete holding his nerve to take the title in front of the Doha crowd.

Qi finished third with 22 hits.

Kuwait secured the Trap Men team gold with a total of 356 hits. Al-Faihan led the team with 121, followed by Talal Alrashidi with 119 and Khaled Almudhaf with 116. Poland, Czechia and India all finished on 354, with Poland taking silver and Czechia bronze.

Earlier, Italy’s Jessica Rossi claimed the Trap Women title, winning the final with 27 hits. Guatemala’s Adriana Ruano Oliva took silver with 26, while Daria Semianova of AIN completed the podium with 19.

All three medallists secured LA28 Olympic quota places for ITA, GUA and AIN respectively.

Rossi produced a strong performance throughout the final to take the world title, adding another major achievement to her career.

Ruano Oliva kept the pressure on until the closing stages, finishing just one target behind the Italian.

Semianova claimed bronze, ahead of Italy’s Erica Sessa, who finished fourth with 16 hits.

Italy also won the women’s Trap team title with a combined score of 348. Jessica Rossi led the team with 119, supported by Erica Sessa’s 117 and Silvana Maria Stanco’s 112, giving Italy an eight-hit advantage over the teams tied on 340.

Czechia finished second with 340, with Zina Hrdlickova scoring 117, Martina Matejkova 115 and Tereza Zaviskova 108. Türkiye also totalled 340 to take third place, led by Rumeysa Pelin Kaya’s 118 and Safiye Temizdemir’s 116, alongside Nihan Gurer’s 106.