Håkan Dahlby wins the ISSF World Cup Title in Double Trap Men
Håkan Dahlby of Sweden won the Double Trap match at the 2008 ISSF World Cup Final in Minsk, outdoing his opponents with a score of 191 hits (144+47) in a cold and windy day. The Double Trap Event opened this ISSF World Cup Final, with a spectacular match played at the “Sporting Club of Minsk”, hosting for the first time a ISSF World Cup competition.
The 43-year old Swedish champion Dahlby did not hide his aims today, entering the final round in first with 144 hits after the qualifications. He shot then a consistent final of 47 hits, never jeopardizing his leadership, ending up in first with a total score of 191 hits and grabbing his second ISSF World Cup Title: Dahlby had already won the Cup in Dubai three years ago, at the 2005 Final.
Today’s victory comes to close a season in which the Swedish athlete has won a World Cup stage in Kerrville (USA) and a Bronze medal at the World Cup of Belgrade. “This is the best way to close the season – said Håkan – I am just sorry for the results of the Olympic Games. It has been a difficult competition, with a lot of pressure. This has been a stressful year, and I will take some time off from shooting to rest and to take decisions about my future.”
Dahlby had walked into the Olympic as number two in the World, finishing then in eleventh place, out of the final round.
“Håkan played an excellent final, today!” commented the Olympic Gold medallist and title defender Walton Eller of the USA, who did not make into the final today “He has been shooting a solid round, always on the lead, always a few targets ahead…”
Eller, who placed in ninth with a score of 135 hits today, had won the 2007 World Cup Final Edition “I tried my best, but it didn’t work today …”
Silver went to the Olympic Bronze medallist of Beijing, the Chinese shooter Hu Binyuan, who played a spectacular remount from the third place to catch up the second qualified Vasily Mosin of Russia.
Hu had started with a qualification score of 140 hits, with three targets of disadvantage from Mosin, but the Chinese shooter was able to exploit his opponent’s mistakes: while Mosin missed five final targets, Hu closed the round with just two zeros. The two shooters finished the round tied with 188 clays, meeting in a long shoot-off for Silver and Bronze eventually won by Hu 23 to 22 hits.
The 30-years old Chinese athlete is not new to a World Cup Final podium: he had indeed already won three Silver medal in this competition (Rome 2003, Granada 2006 and Belgrade 2007).
The Olympic Silver medallist Francesco D’Aniello, 39, from Italy, closed the round in fourth position, with a total score of 186 hits (139+47). Roland Gerebics of Hungary and Mikhail Leybo of Russia, tied with 184 targets, shot-off for the fifth place. The duel was won by Gerebics, who placed in fifth outdoing his opponent Leybo 3 to 4 hit.
