pistol
NEW DELHI: Despite technical issues that briefly stopped the competition, China’s Olympic champion Li Yuehong won the men’s 25-meter rapid fire pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Final here on Wednesday.
After the first four series, the world record holder was still undefeated, but after Christian Reitz of Germany challenged his three-out-of-five performance, the judges decided to allow a reshoot.
Following the sixth series, the Rio Olympic winner raised his hand once more in a shootout with fellow German Oliver Geis. Reitz was forced to withdraw from the competition in fifth position when the jury rejected his plea this time.
Despite the fact that Li only managed three of five hits in each game, his dreams of surpassing his own world record of 39 hits were crushed.
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After winning in 2021, his 34 hits were sufficient to capture his second ISSF World Cup Final championship.
With 30 hits, Florian Peter of Germany, who had defeated Li for gold in the World Cup Final the previous year, came in second, and Wang Xinjie, Li’s countryman, came in third.
This triumph concluded an incredible year for Li, who earned a long-awaited gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, his third Olympic appearance, rounding off his collection of international victories.
Looking ahead, the 35-year-old veteran stated that he wants to motivate the next generation by “talking to young people and teaching them how to shoot rapid fire pistol.”
Chinese shooter Han Jiayu took third place in the women’s 50-meter rifle three-position competition earlier on Wednesday. With a powerful penultimate shot, Danish competitor Rikke Maeng Ibsen defeated Norwegian Jeanette Hegg Duestad to win the title. China’s Zhang Qiongyue, the Olympic bronze medallist, struggled in the standings and dropped to fifth place after leading by 0.7 points.
In a fierce battle that included several shootoffs, China added another bronze through Feng Sixuan in the women’s 25m pistol final. To win gold, Josefin Eder of Germany defeated Camille Jedrzejewski of France by a slim margin, 36–35.
Just after winning ISSF Athlete of the Year, Olympic champion and world record holder Liu Yukun failed to place third in the men’s 50-meter rifle three spots.
Istvan Peni of Hungary put up a strong show, taking home gold with 465.3 points and adding to his silver medal from the 10m air rifle competition earlier in the week.
Following the men’s and women’s trap and skeet competitions, the ISSF World Cup Final will wrap up on Thursday.
