By Xinhua,
Munich : World shooting powerhouse China finished at the top of the medal standings at the Munich leg of the ISSF World Cup, with four golds, four silvers and one bronze.
China was way ahead of Ukraine and Israel, who came next with two golds each in the eight-day competition which ended here Wednesday.
China added one gold and one silver on the concluding day of the event to cement the top place.
Chinese green-horn He Zhaohui grabbed the gold medal in men’s 50m rifle three positions, sealing the fourth gold for the country, while veteran shooter Tong Xin won a silver in women’s 10m air pistol after edging past Ukraine’s Athens Olympic champion Olena Kostevych.
In the third and the last event of the day, Czech shooter Jan Sychra won the gold medal in men’s skeet.
Much to the surprise of the spectators at the Munich Olympic Shooting Range, China’s Zhaohui finished first in the qualifying round of men’s 50m rifle three positions with 1,182 points.
Zhaohui went on to win the gold with 1,283.5 points. The silver medal went to Mario Knoegler from Austria while U.S. Olympic champion Matthew Emmons, who was fourth in the qualifying round, had to contend with the third place.
This is the first World Cup gold medal for Zhaohui, who joined the national team earlier this year.
“I was a bit excited in the middle, but I then controlled myself,” he said.
Zhaohui total score is also a new national record, but he said he had shot more in his training.
In women’s 10m air pistol, Ukraine’s Athens Olympic champion Olena Kostevych defended her title. Kostevych, who scored 390 points in the qualifying round, overcame the challenge from Chinese Tong Xin to take the gold medal.
Lee Ho Lim from South Korea claimed the bronze.
“I just concentrated on myself, I didn’t know about Tong’s shots,” Kostevych said.
“I think she (Tong) has a good future,” the world champion added.
In the men’s skeet, Czech shooter Jan Sychra claimed the gold with 149 hits.
The Czech also tied the current world record of 125 hits out of 125 targets in the qualifying round.
Georgios Achilleos from Cyprus and Valerio Luchini of Italy both had 148 hits, but the former hit two targets in the shoot-off to snatch the silver.
Shooters from all across the world will move to Milan Thursday for the next leg of the ISSF World Cup.