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Grozdeva peaks for the World Championship: at the last ISSF World Cup Stage of the season she won her second Gold medal back to back, climbing the world ranking up to the first place.

The two-time Olympic Champion Maria Grozdeva of Bulgaria won the 25m Pistol Women final at the ISSF World Cup in Rifle and Pistol events in Belgrade, Serbia, claiming her second World Cup gold back to back.

The 38-year old Bulgarian athlete shot the highest final score, 206.7 points, climbing up in the lead from the fifth place she had gained throughout the qualification.

Finishing in first place with a total score of 790.7 (584+206.7) points, Grozdeva secured her second consecutive World Cup Gold medal, following her success at the previous ISSF World Cup stage held in Fort Benning (USA) last May.

At the same time the Bulgarian shooter, who has won an impressive number of 25 world cup medals in this event during her sport career, secures the first place in the world ranking, and seems to be one of the favourites in the fight for the first 2012 Olympic Quota Places, that will be assigned at the next ISSF World Championship to be held in Munich from July 29th through August 10th.

Following her on the podium, the French shooter Celine Goberville placed in second grabbing Silver with a total score of 790.6 (588+202.6) points. The 23-year old shooter had finished on the podium also a couple of days ago, as she won the 10m Air Pistol Women event. Goberville, competing on the international scene since the end of the nineties, had never won an ISSF medal prior to this world cup stage of Belgrade.

The Bronze medal was taken by the Olympic Champion of Seoul 1988, Georgia’s Nino Salukvadze, 41, who closed the match in third with a total score of 788.3 points. Qualified with 586 points, the Georgian shooter scored 202.3 points throughout the final to win her first medal of the season.

The home shooter and local hero, Serbia’s Jasna Sekaric followed them placing in fourth with a total score of 786.0 points, 2.3 points far from the podium. The 44-year old shooter, a five-time Olympic medallist, had won the first world cup stage of the year, held in Sydney (AUS).

The German shooter moved up in first starting from the fourth qualification spot, winning on the lines of the 2008 Olympic range of Beijing. Australia’s Yauhleuskaya followed in second thanks to an outstanding final score of 205.7 points.

Germany’s Munkhbayar Dorjsuren won today’s 25m Pistol Women event at the ISSF World Cup in Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun events in Beijing, held on the lines of the 2008 Olympic venue.

The 40-year old German shooter, who had won here an Olympic Bronze two years ago, said to be extremely excited to be back on Beijing’s podium, and to win her first ISSF Gold medal of the season.

Dorjusuren had to fight hard to climb up on the highest step of the podium. The German athlete had qualified in fourth place, with 583 points and two points of disadvantage from the qualification leader, the home shooter Zhang Jingjing.

She started climbing up the scoreboard since the first final series, moving up shot after shot and eventually claiming Gold with a total score of 787.0 points (583+204.0). Dorjusuren had won her last ISSF Gold medal in 2009, at the World Cup Stage held in Milan.

Following her, the 2000 Olympic Bronze medallist Lalita Yauhleuskaya did even better, by scoring 205.7 points during the final. The Australian athlete climbed all the way up from the eighth place she had on the start grid, landing in second place to claim Silver with a total score of 786.7 points. The 46-year old shooters had started the season in the spotlights by making it into the final match at the first 2010 ISSF World Cup Stage in Sydney, where she had eventually placed fourth.

The home shooter, Zhang Jingjing, 21-year old, had never competed before in an international shooting event. After qualifying in the lead with 585 points, she paid her lack of experience during the medal match.

Shooting in the eighth and ninth rings more than once, she slid down in the placements, grabbing the Bronze medal with 786.3 points, just five tenths more than what scored by Bulgaria’s Grozdeva, who placed in fourth with 785.8 points.

One of the favourite shooter, China’s Guo Wenjun, the 10m Air Pistol Women Olympic Champion of Beijing, did not make it to the podium. The 25-year old shooter qualified for the final in third place with 583 points, ending up in sixth place with a total of 783.7 points after shooting 200.7 points in the final. She was followed by Azerbaijan’s Irada Ashumova (seventh with 783.5 points) and by Georgia’s Olympic multi-medallist Nino Salukvadze (eighth with 779.0 points).

The six time Olympian from Serbia came back to victory in the 25m Pistol Women event at the Olympic Shooting Range of Sydney. Australia’s hopes Yauhleuskaya and Ryan finished in fourth and sixth.

Serbia’s five time Olympic medallist Jasna Sekaric came back on the highest step of an ISSF podium by winning today’s 25m Pistol Women event at the ISSF World Cup in Rifle and Pistol events in Sydney, Australia. This wasn’t the first time that she competed here: on the lines of this venue she had won a 10m Air Pistol Silver medal during the 2000 Olympic Games, and probably experience played a determinant role in today’s victory.

Entering today’s final round solydly in the lead with 585 points, Sekaric did not shoot at her best during the final match, scoring 197.2 points throughout the four final series. Thanks to her 3-point head start, she managed her margin over the followers, finishing in first place with a total score of 782.2 points.

“I haven’t been training that much because we don’t have a indoor range in Serbia. Therefore I was a little bit nervous, you have probably seen it during the final.” Sekaric said after the round.

The 44-year old shooter had won her last World Cup Gold in this event in 2008, at the pre-Olympic World Cup in Beijing. The Serbian sharpshooter, competing in each edition of the Olympics since 1988, has won an impressive record number of 59 World Cup medals in her successful sport career.

Silver went to the 22-year old Russian shooter Anna Mastyanina, competing in her first final, today. The young shooter, ranked 53 in the world, grabbed her best results ever here in Sydney, claiming the Silver medal with a total score of 781.2 points, after scoring of 199.2 in the final.

Just two tenths of a point behind her, Korea’s Boo Soon Hee secured Bronze with 781.0 points. The 42-year old finalist, an Olympic veteran of Seoul, Atlanta and Sydney, had won her last World Cup medal in 1994, in Munich. Entering today’s match in eight an last place, with the lower qualification score of 577 points, she climbed upon the podium by shooting today’s highest score in the final: 204.0 outstanding points.

Today’s turned out to be a great event also for the host country, Australia, as two Australian shooters made it to the final round, ranking in fourth and sixth place. Lalita Yahuleuskaya turned out to be a little bit unlucky, as she missed the podium by 0.7 points finishing in fourth with a total score of 780.3 points. Her teammate Linda Ryan, an Olympians of Sydney 2000’s Games, understandably felt the home court pressure, losing the third spot she had on the start list to end up in fifth place with 778.6 points.

Munkhbayar DORJSUREN won her second 2009 World Cup series medal by leading the 25m Pistol Women final match at the world cup stage of Milan. The German shooter preceded on the podium China’s YUAN and Australia’s YAUHLEUSKAYA.

Today’s 25m Pistol Women final turned out to be a close neck and neck fight between Beijing’s Olympic Bronze medallist Munkhbayar DORJSUREN of Germany and the three Chinese teammates YUAN and ZHAO.