Women's 10m Air Pistol champion China's Xue Li (centre), silver winner Nan Zhao and third placed Ranxin Jiang.
Doha, Qatar: Germany’s European Games champion Robin Walter and China’s Xue Li claimed 10m air pistol titles on the opening day of the International Sport Shooting Federation (ISSF) World Cup final yesterday.
At the world-class Lusail Shooting Range, Walter, who added European Championship silver this year to the gold he won in 2022, secured his place atop another podium after a qualifying competition from which all three of this year’s World Championship medallists failed to emerge.
The podium winners in the men's 10m Air Pistol, champion Robin Walter, second place winner Paolo Monna and bronze winner Emil Vasermanis.
Silver went to Italy’s 25-year-old world No.3 Paolo Monna, the highest-ranked shooter in the final, with Latvia’s Emil Vasermanis earning bronze.
Later, Li earned dramatic victory to lead a Chinese clean sweep in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
Li, 23, trailed her 19-year-old compatriot Nan Zhao by 0.2 points before the pair fired their two concluding shots – and she moved ahead by 0.4 points after her opening 10.3 had been swiftly followed by a relatively disappointing 9.7 from her younger rival.
Li, who won world bronze in Baku earlier this year, rounded off nervelessly, shooting marginally earlier than her opponent and scoring 10.8, just 0.1 short of perfection.
Zhao improved with a final 10.1, but gold was comfortably for Li with a total of 244.7 as the teenager finished with 243.6.
In the penultimate round of shooting China’s world champion and world No.2 Jiang Ranxin had to settle for bronze, 0.2 points adrift of the leading pair.
Earlier on Monday, the event began with a grand opening ceremony held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Speaking on the occasion, ISSF President Luciano Rossi hinted that Qatar may also host the event next year.
“I am confident that Qatar will even host the 2024 World Cup final again in the year of the Olympics, where we can celebrate all together the Olympic medallists.”
He added the next year Qatar was set to host “the most important competition before Paris 2024 – the shotgun qualification tournament where the last quota places will be claimed.
The ISSF president thanked Qatar Olympic Committee President H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani for his support of this event.
“And a special thanks to the President of the Qatar Shooting and Archery Federation Mishaal Al Nasr. He has worked hard and his federation,” he added.
