ISSF

Published on 06 Jul 2014

Fokeev claims the Double Trap Men gold, and looks forward to the World Championship

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Marco Dalla Dea

The Russian shooter beat Hu Binyuan of the People's Republic of China in a thrilling shoot-off at the end of the Gold medal match. With two world cup medals around his neck, Fokeev looks now forward to the 2014 ISSF World Championship to take place in Granada, Spain, the next September: 'That's the most important competition of the year'.

Vitaly Fokeev (40) of the Russian Federation, beat China's Hu Binyuan (37) to win the Double Trap Men competition in Beijing, during the last leg of this year's ISSF World Cup Series.

The Russian shooter had to pass through two shoot-offs, to finish atop of the podium. Qualified for the final phase of the competition in the lead with 146 hits, Fokeev hit 28 clays in the semi-final, and shot-off his teammate Michael Leybo to access the Gold medal match.

 

There, he met the local hero Hu Binyuan, the Chinese shooter who had won an Olympic Bronze medal here in Beijing, back in 2008. The two athletes dueled neck and neck right to the last double, and beyond. Both being tied with 28 hits, they continued shooting in a shoot-off for Gold, right to the fifth double, when Hu missed a fatal clay leaving the brightest medal to Fokeev with 28+10 hits.

 

Fokeev said: “During the shoot-off I tried to stay calm, and not to lose my position, in order to hit every target. I did not get a Gold medal for a long time, so today I tried my best not to lose it. When I finally moved up into the lead, I felt really happy and satisfied.”

 

The Russian athlete, currently ranked 8th in the world in this event, had secured a world cup bronze medal at the beginning of the season, in Tucson, AZ (USA).

 

“Winning two world cup medals within a season is not bad at all. But the main goal of the season is the World Championship, I will try my best to get a spot on the podium, there.”

 

Two Russian flags weaved upon today's podium: the Bronze medal went indeed to Fokeev's teammate Michael Leybo (28), the 2006 Junior World Champion.

 

Leybo beat Italy's Alessandro Chianese in a shoot-off at the end of the Bronze match, 4 to 3 hits, as both shooters had tied with 28 hits in the medal match.

 

The second Italian finalist Antonino Barilla finished in fifth place with 26 hits in the semi-final, after loosing a shoot-off to access the Bronze medal match against his teammate Chianese (2 to 1 for Chianese). China's Li Jun followed him in sixth place with 24 hits in the semi-final.