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Italy’s Cainero took part in her first World Cup Stage, this year, outdoing her strongest opponents: China’s Wei Ning and USA’s Kimberly Rhode. The Olympic Champion is back into the fight, and aims to a Quota Place in Munich.

The left-handed Olympic Champion of Beijing 2008, Chiara Cainero (ITA), won the Skeet Women Final, the opening match of the 2010 ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Dorset (UK).

The Italian shooter, taking part in her first World Cup Stage this year, qualified for the match in second place with a qualification score of 71 hits, tied to USA’s Kimberly Rhode, and ranking one target behind China’s Wei Ning.

Duelling neck and neck with Rhode throughout the first satiations, Cainero moved on and tied Wei Ning after the fifth station, finishing in a shoot-off for Gold against the Chinese champion.

The shoot-off turned then in favour of the Italian athlete. The Olympic champion, shooting first, hit one of the two shoot-off targets, while Wei Ning missed both, placing herself in second.

“It has been a difficult final – said Cainero, who climbed up on the highest step of the podium with a total score of 94 +1 hits – It’s my first World Cup, this year, and a Gold medal it’s the best way to start the season! I decided not to participate in the ISSF World Cup Stage in Acapulco and Beijing to save some energy. I would like to be ready to peak for the ISSF World Championship, next August.” Explained the 32-year old Italian shooter.

“I was not nervous today. I am just following my plans. The first Quota Places for the 2012 Olympics are going to be awarded in Munich, and I am expecting high scores there – she continued – I don’t wont to get there more stressed than needed… I will now compete in a couple of Italian championships, and than at the ISSF World Cup in Lonato.” Concluded Cainero, mentioning the ISSF World Cup which is going to take place in Italy next June.

UK’s supporters cheered up for Great Britain’s Elena Allen (formerly known as Elena Little), who climbed up the scoreboard from the lowest qualification score up to the third step of the podium. Allen secured Bronze with a total score of 93 hits (70+23), claiming the second ISSF World Cup medal of her career (she had won a 2005 WC stage in Belgrade).

The World Rank’s leader, USA’s Kimberly Rhode, did not make it to the podium, today. After winning the first two World Cup Stage of the year, in Acapulco and Beijing, the 30-year old American athlete placed today in fourth, with a total score of 92 hits (71+21).

The top-ranked Chinese shooter won with ease on the lines of her home range, managing her two-point head start to win her first 2010 Gold medal. She had finished on the podium also at the first 2010 ISSF World Cup Stage in Sydney, grabbing a Bronze medal in this event.

The home shooter Guo Wenjun, ranked first in the world, won Gold at today’s 10m Air Pistol Women event. The Chinese athlete secured the brightest medal coming back atop of Beijing’s podium two years after her Olympic victory at the 2008 Games.

Shooting solidly in front of her home supporters, the 25-year old Chinese shooter cleared the qualification rounds with an excellent qualification score of 388 points, placing her first on the final’s start list with two points of advantage on the followers. Displaying great confidence, Guo took her time during the final round, managing her head start and securing the Gold medal with a total score of 489.2 (388+101.2) points.

The Chinese athlete keeps on winning in this event since the 2008 Olympic Games. Following the Olympic Gold won here in Beijing, she became an undoubted protagonist of the ISSF World Cup Series, winning both the 2008 and the 2009 World Cup Finals. Ranking first in the World in the 10m Air Pistol event, and between the bests in the 25m Pistol Women event, she stands as the women to beat on the path leading to the 50th ISSF World Championship in all event, where next August in Munich the first quota places for the 2012 Olympic Games will be distributed.

Following her three points behind, Silver was taken by the first-time medallist Lioubov Iaskevitch of the Russian Federation. The 25-year old athlete, competing on the international stage since 2002, ended up in second place with a total score of 486.7 (384+102.7) points, after firing the highest score of today’s final.

Iaskevitch climbed up from the seventh place after the qualification, overtaking the second Chinese finalist Su Yuling (who landed in sixth with 481.9 points) and the Korean first time finalist Kim Seon A, who closed the round in third place winning Bronze with 483.9 (384+99.9) points.

The Olympic Champion Jin Johng Oh fired 12 shots during today’s 50m Pistol Men final round. After loosing the duel for Gold against China’s Lin, he had to pass through a shoot-off to secure Silver, but one shot was not enough to grant him the second step of the podium.

It was the last shot that decided today’s 50m Pistol Men final at the ISSF World Cup in Sydney, where the 2008 Olympic Champion of Beijing Jin Jong Oh of Korea and the 2007 World Cup Final winner Lin Zhongzai of China duelled right to the end to secure the highest step of the podium.

China’s Lin, 28-year old, a three-time World Cup Gold medallist, had started the round in the lead with 567 points after the qualifications, with one point of a head start over the Korean champion Jin Jong Oh, who walked into the match with 566 points.

During the ten-shot final, the Olympic Champion Jin shortened up the gap from the top of the scoreboard, taking advantage of a frustrating 7.2 scored by Lin.

After the ninth shot, Lin only had one tenth of a point of margin over Jin left, and the tenth and last final shot turned into a sort of shoot-off for the brightest medal.

Lin shooting first fired an 8.9, which usually would have been not enough to keep up with the Olympic Champion. But this time Jin did not take advantage of his opponent’s defiance, shooting a disappointing 8.1 that landed him in second place.

Lin Zhongzai, looking incredulous at the scores monitor, claimed Gold with a total score of 662.7 points.

Left in second place with a total score of 661.7 points, Jin Jong Oh found himself tied with the American shooter Daryl Szarenski, 42, who had started the match in first place, then sliding down on the scoreboard.

One shot was not enough to break the tie between the two contenders: both Jin and Szarenski scored a 10.0, and a further shot was needed to decide the podium placements. Eventually Jin gave his best, outscoring Szarenski by 10.5 to 9.2 points and securing the Silver medal with a total score of 661.9+10.0+10.5 points. Szarenski took the Bronze medal with 661.9+10.0+9.2 points.

Serbia’s Damir Mikec closed the round in fourth place with 652.3 points, followed by the two Russian teammates Denis Koulakov and Sergey Chervyakovsiy in fifth and sixth place with 648.9 and 648.7 points, respectively. Zhang Tian of China ended up in seventh with 644.1 points, while the first time finalist Lim Swee Hon of Singapore closed in eighth place with 640.0 points.

After the first 75 qualification targets, the Chinese outsider Li Yang tied to Beijing’s Olympic Champion Kostelecky in the lead of the Trap Men ranking. The title defender Diamond shot 73 targets and ranks in 10th place. The competition will continue tomorrow, with the next 50 qualification targets and the final round.

Beijing’s Olympic Champion JIN Jong Oh claimed gold at today’s 10m Air Pistol men event, coming back on the podium a few weeks after his successes at the ISSF World Cup in Changwon. Jin was close followed by his teammate LEE Daemyung, who secured Silver. Belarus Jury DAUHAPOLAU closed the final in third winning Bronze.

Beijing’s Olympic multimedallist JIN Jong Oh from Korea won today’s 10m Air Pistol final round at the ISSF World Cup stage in all events in Munich by shooting a total score of 689.4 (586+103.4) points. So far, the 29-year Korean champion has collected four World Cup medals out of six competitions in the 2009 shooting season.

Jin had successfully participated also in the first ISSF world cup stage of the year, held in Changwon, Korea. There, Jin shot a record score of 594 points that shattered the previous record of 593 points that had been set by Sergei Pyzhianov 20 years ago, at the 1989 ISSF World Cup Final. Next to the record, Jin pocketed a Silver medal in the 10m Air Rifle men event and a Gold in the 50m Pistol competition.

Jin’s teammate LEE Daemyung secured Silver with 686.7 points. The 20-year old Korean shooter had never won a world cup medal before, and his best achievement so far had been a Silver medal won as junior shooter at the 2006 World Championships in Zagreb. Lee qualified for today’s match tied to Jin with 586 points, and shot a final of 100.7 points defending his position in second place.

Belarus’ Jury DAUHAPOLAU went very close to the two Korean temmates, trying to grab Silver. The Belarusian shooter finished in third place only one tenth of a point behind Lee, gaining Bronze with 686.6 (584+ 102.6) points.