ISSF World Cup determines winners
By Amina Nazarli
Gabala left the fourth day of the ISSF World Cup behind.
The winners of the two disciplines were determined on August
11.
In the 25m Pistol Women Finals 18-year old shooter Lijia Cao of
China atop of Gabala's podium. She beat Russia's Vitalina
Batsarashkina with a net score of 7 to 1 points in the gold medal
match, after passing through the semi-final with 18 hits.
“This is a great birthday present. I turned 18 just one month ago,
and this medal is the best thing that could happen to me.” Cao
said.
“I am really happy about this Gold, it's my first international victory, and I hope I will get many more in the future. I would like to thank my coach and my team, without them this would not have happened.”
Silver medallist, Vitalina Batsarashkina earned a Rio 2016 Quota place. Another Chinese athlete Jingjing Zhang took bronze.
In the 50m Pistol Men Finals Chinese shooter became the best. 27 year-old 2013 Asian Champion Jiajie Mai won gold medal.
Mai, who had never won a world cup stage before marked 194.7 points in the final.
Korean Daehun Park lose with over 3 points on the Chinese athlete and collected silver with 191.4 points.
Korea celebrated twice, today, as their second finalist, Kim Cheongyong, made it to the third step of podium, gaining bronze medal with 169.9 points.
Commenting on his success he said: “I dream of winning a gold in Rio de Janeiro,” adding that right now he has "50%" chances of making that dream come true.
Jointly organized by the National Olympic Committee, Youth and Sports Ministry, Gabala Shooting Club, and the Azerbaijani Shooting Federation, the competition brings together best athletes to compete in the rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooting disciplines.
The hallmark of the event is that 34 of the winning athletes will qualify to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio.
This is the sixth stage of the competition. The previous five qualifying stages of the World Cup were held in the USA, Germany, UAE, Cyprus, and Mexico throughout the year.
The competition, which includes 17 types of shooting sports will last until August 16.
Azerbaijan is being represented by 27 athletes at the event, including Emil Jafarov, Nurlana Jafarova, Pasha Ahadpur, Niyaz Agazade, and others.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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