Shooting Day 3 Preview: China looks for more gold in Shooting
(BEIJING, August 10) — Another two gold medals will be decided tomorrow in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle and the Women’s Trap.
China will have a chance to win its third Shooting gold medal in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle as World No. 1 Zhu Qinan of China will take part in the event. Zhu won the gold medal in the event at Athens 2004.
If Zhu can win on home soil, he will become the first shooter to win two gold medals in the event, which has been on the Olympic calendar since Los Angeles 1984.
To beat Zhu, an Olympic record will almost certainly need to be broken because Zhu is the current Olympic record holder with a near-perfect 599 in the qualification round at Athens 2004.
Zhu also holds the record for an Olympic final score, the 702.7 that he shot at Athens 2004 to win the gold medal.
Zhu’s main threat will be Romanian Alin George Moldoveanu. Moldoveanu won the gold medal in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle at the 2008 Munich World Cup in May.
Zhu’s form, however, has been better. The 21-year-old Chinese shooter has won two World Cup stops this year – in Beijing and Milan.
Zhu may have to contend with his compatriot, 20-year-old Cao Yifei. Cao was the runner-up at the Milan World Cup and is a talented young shooter.
In the Women’s Trap, San Marino’s Daniela Del Din will strive to win a gold medal for the tiny European country. Del Din, 38, is the current World No. 1.
China’s Liu Yingzi will provide Del Din with some tough competition. The 37-year-old native of Hunan province will be buoyed by the top class performances of China’s Shooting gold medalists Pang Wei and Guo Wenjun.
