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Thank you Minsk!
The third stage of this year’s ISSF World Cup in Shotgun events was officially closed by the ISSF Vice President and Technical Delegate Mr. Medhat Wahdan, who thanked the participants and the organizers of the competition in behalf of the ISSF family.

“Thank you for your hospitality, and for this successful competition” Said Mr. Wahdan, while speaking at the closing ceremony “Minsk weather did not help us: we experienced the four seasons within ten days, but  this turned out to be a successful world cup stage in spite of the difficulties. Thank you all!”

The medal standings: China grabbed the first place
The People’s Republic of China grabbed the first place of this ISSF Shotgun World Cup stage by shooting two Gold medals in the Trap Women and in the Double Trap Men events.
Italy placed in second in spite of winning the overall higher number of medals.  Italian shooters secured one Gold medal at the Trap Men event, one Silver at the Trap Women event, and one Bronze at the Skeet Women final, for a total of three podiums.
The Russian Federation followed in third place thanks to the Gold medal won by the veteran Svetlana Demina at the Skeet Women final and to the Bronze gained by the Double Trap specialist Vitaly Fokeev.

The Olympic Silver medallist of Athens and Beijing Giovanni PELLIELO of Italy won the Trap Men final round of the third leg of the 2009 ISSF Shotgun World Cup. The Italian shooter did not miss any of the 25 final targets, ending up on the highest step of the podium with a score of 147 (122+25) hits.

“It hasn’t been easy, because of this weather… We have been shooting under this cold rain all day long!” commented PELLIELO about today’s competition, which took place in difficult weather conditions. “I’ve just changed my shotgun, and I though it was going to take longer to get used to the new one. Actually, all run smoothly, and I easily found the new set-up, as you have seen!”

Next of holding the current World Record, PELLIELO is one of the most active World Cup shooters. Within the last 19 years, the Italian shooter has indeed won ten World Cup Gold medals, and a record number of 7 ISSF World Cup Finals; “I am the World Cup Final title holder, so I would have been qualified for this year’s World Cup Final anyway. But it’s a great satisfaction to walk into the Final with some good points gained throughout this year’s Series.” Conclude Pellielo, who will not take part in the last World Cup Stage in San Marino, but will compete at the World Cup Final, next November.

During today’s final, the PELLIELO faced the two times Olympic Champion Michael DIAMOND of Australia, 37, who won today’s Silver with a total score of 144 (123+21) hits. The two shooters had met also on the last Olympics’ final of Beijing, when the Australian athlete had then placed in fourth. The

The Australian champion walked into today’s final match with the highest qualification score of 123 hits. Then, he had a few hesitations at the beginning of the final round, when the rain became stronger, and dropped three out of the first six targets, dropping in the scoreboard.

Bronze went to the 2006 World Champion, India’s Manavjit Singh SANDHU, who won a shoot-off for the podium against Kuwait’s ALMUDHAF 5 to 4 hits.

SANDHU, 32-year old, started the final match with a qualification score of 121 hits, shot 21 targets in the final and ended up in third with a total score of 142 +5 targets, outdoing the 2002 World Champion Khaled ALMUDHAF, who placed in fourth with 142 +4 targets.

Ireland’s Derek BURNETT closed the match in fifth, with a total score of 141 targets, followed by the winner of the last World Cup stage of Munich, Italy’s Massimo FABBRIZI, sixth with 139 targets.

Competing in the rain, the reigning World Champion LIU Yingzi, 38, from China, won the Trap Women final of the ISSF Shotgun Word Cup stage of Minsk.

The Chinese shooter, who had never won an ISSF World Cup Gold medal before, finished on the highest step of the podium with a total score of 90 hits (69+21), after making up the three-target disadvantage she had from the qualification’s leader STEFECEKOVA.

Following the morning’s qualifications, LIU had walked into the final in third place with a score od 69 hits. The final round took then place under the rain, and the Chinese shooter managed to exploit her opponents’ difficulties to climb up the scoreboard with a final of 21 hits.

Behind LIU, Susanne KIERMAYER of Germany, Jessica ROSSI of Italy and Zuzana STEFECEKOVA of Slovakia tied in second place with a total score of 88 targets, and had to pass through a shoot-off to assign Silver and Bronze.

The 25-year old Slovakian World Record holder Zuzana STEFECEKOVA missed the very first shoot-off target, placing herself in fourth with a total score of 88 (71+17) +0 targets.

Susanne KIERMAYER of Germany, who had climbed from the sixth place, landed in third winning Bronze as she dropped her fourth shoot-off clay finishing on the third step of the podium with a total score of 88 (68+20) +3 targets.  “I am happy of my Bronze, but it has not been easy today! To shoot in rain it was difficult. I had to keep wiping off my glasses!”

Today’s youngest finalist, Jessica ROSSI, 17-years old, form Italy, outdid KIERMAYER, winning the shoot-off and grabbing the Silver medal with a total score of 88 (70+18) +4 targets. The Italian shooter had claimed a Silver medal also at this year’s first ISSF World Cup Stage in Cairo. She said “I did not expect such a result: two medals out of two competitions! But I am not completely satisfied about today’s match. I missed so many targets at the beginning of the final round… Luckily I went back on tracks just in time to made into the shoot-off for the podium!”

The People’s Republic of China had entered three shooters into today’s Trap Women final round. Following a few targets behing the Gold medallist LIU, the Silver medallist of this year’s World Cup in Munich LU Xingyu and the 2006 Asian Champion LI Chen placed in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

The Olympic Bronze medallist of Beijing, France’s Anthony TERRAS, won the Skeet Men event at the ISSF World Cup in Minsk climbing on the highest step of the podium with a total score of 146 hits + 22 targets in the shoot-off. The France shooter won the medal after passing through a 10-pair shoot-off for Gold.

“I had nothing to loose, we where all tied and I only tried to give my best to succeed. I have a certain experience in long shoot-offs: I went through such a shoot-off at the Olympic Games of Beijing;” said the 23-year old athletes after shooting-off Finland’s Heikki MERILUOTO and Ukraine’s Mikola MILCHEV, who placed in second and third place, respectively.

Today’s six finalists had started the final round tied with a qualification score of 121 hits, in a clear and sunny afternoon, with calm wind, that followed yesterday’s rainy qualifications.

The first shooter to exit the quest for gold was Germany’s Thorsten HAPKE, who dropped two precious targets in fifth and sixth station, closing the final round in sixth with a total score of 144 hits.

Italy’s Valerio LUCHINI, Bronze medallist at the last ISSF World Cup in Munich, followed HAPKE by loosing a low-house clay on the fourth station placing in fifth with a total score of 145 targets.

Beijing Silver and Bronze medallists Tore BROVOLD of Norway and Anthony TERRAS of France, together with Finland’s Heikki MERILUOTO and the 2000 Olympic Champion Mikola MILCHEV of Ukraine, tied in first place by shooting a perfect final round of 25 hits and a total score of 146 targets. A four-way shoot-off for Gold was issued between them to decide the winner of the match.

The 38-year old Norwegian shooter BROVOLD was the first to leave the golden shoot-off after missing an high-house target on his second pair. Beijing’s Olympic Silver medallist closed the round in fourth place with 146 +3 targets.

MILCHEV, TERRAS and MARILUOTO kept on shooting for Gold right to the tenth pair, when the 41-year old MILCHEV missed a target placing himself in third place with a total score of 146 +19 hits.

Following him, MARILUOTO dropped a Mark on his eleventh pair, placing in second and winning Silver with 146 +21 hits, while the 23-year old TERRAS won the spectators’ applauses and the Gold medal with 146 +22 hits.

“I am so happy about this Gold!” said the France shooter, who had never won a World Cup Gold medal before. “Was I shooting fast? That wasn’t because I was nervous, that’s my way of shooting finals!”