Olympic champs on target in final
The Nation (Thailand)
October 28, 2004, Thursday
[SHOOTING] Two-time Olympics gold medallist Maria Grozdeva of Bulgaria
showed her class in the womens air pistol event, while two other Athens
champions were below par as the ISSF World Cup final started yesterday
at the Hua Mark Shooting Range.
The 32-year-old from Sofia produced a solid final score of 691.6 to
walk away with the first gold medal of the meet and extended her
brilliant performance with the air pistol following her wins in the
Sydney and Athens Olympics.
While Grozdeva, who had to be content with the silver in the Bangkok
World Cup in February, lived up to expectations, this years Summer
Olympics gold medallists Wang Yifu of China and Matthew Emmons of the
US did not even make it into the top three positions.
Veteran Yifu shot only 584 in the mens air pistol qualification round
and ended the final with only 683.8 for sixth position. He failed to
repeat his form in Athens and the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona where he
won the gold.
New Jersey-based Emmons, whose solid 703.3 scoreline propelled him to
the mens rifle prone gold medal in Athens, was not at his best in the
same category after firing 668.6 to finish fifth.
With a perfect score of 600 in the preliminary round, Olympic silver
medallist Christian Lusch of Germany left all competitors behind in the
final with 702.1 to snatch the gold medal in the mens rifle prone
event. He beat two Belarussians, Yury Shcherbatsevich and Sergei
Martyynov, who finished second and third.
Russian Mikhail Nestruev made amends for his loss to Wang Yifu in
Athens when he took the silver to win the mens air pistol gold.
Armenias Norayr Bakhtamyan, unable to maintain his lead in the
qualification, took the silver, followed by Russian Vladimir
Gontcharov.
Jakkrit Panichpatikum, the only Thai eligible for the meet, was no
match for the elite shooters as he scored only 580 to finish ninth in
the field of 10 in the qualification round, which saw his aim of making
the final cut fall through.
In the concurrent SEASA Shooting Championships exclusive only to
regional participants, Vietnamese shooters took the lions share of gold
medals by winning two of four gold on offer yesterday.
Lerpong Amsa-ngiamThe Nation