Following the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women medal match won by Croatia's Pejcic, the ISSF World Cup in Changwon continued this afternoon with the 10m Air Pistol Women final, where three Rio 2016 Olympic quota places were up for grabs.
Russia's Liubov Yaskevich (29) had fired her last shot in a final at the Royal Artillery Barracks, during the 2012 Olympic Games in London, when she placed in fourth place. She came back today, in Changwon, where she secured a pass to Rio 2016 through a great performance.
After qualifying for the final with 386 points, the Russian athlete ruled the medal match shooting consistently from the first to the last shot. After a neck and neck duel against China's 24-year old Zhang Mengxue, she moved in the lead by a few tenths of a point, claiming the brightest medal with a final score of 198.3 points. Along with the medal, she was awarded an Olympic quota place, her ticket to Rio de Janeiro.
“I have been training a lot after London. The rules changed and I worked on it in these two years. My scores improved slowly but constantly, and I am finally here again.” Yaskevich said after the final. “I am still don't know if I will be heading to Rio. Today's Quota goes to my country, and we will have selection matched back home to select the Olympic team. I hope I will make it.”
“I started shooting following my father, who was a shooter and who's now my coach.” Yaskevich explained. “I love this sport because it gives me a chance to challenge myself, it's addictive. The most difficult thing is to keep your mind clear, and to focus on your routing in spite of the pressure. That's the challenge of shooting sport.”
0.6 points behind her, Zhang Mengxue gained Silver with 197.7 points, striking her first senior international medal. The 24-year old Chinese shooter had only competed once in an international ISSF-recognized match, in 2009, when she secured a junior bronze medal at the Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar. By placing in second, she also achieved one of the three Olympic quotas to be awarded at today's final.
Following the Gold and Silver medallists, South Korea's hope Jung Hye Kwak (28) - at her second appearance in and ISSF world cup final match - won the applauses of the home crowd as she pocketed the Bronze medal and a Rio 2016 Olympic qualification quota. Jung shot solidly throughout the whole match, climbing the final's scoreboard shot after shot, to end up on the third step of Changwon's podium with a final score of 175.0 points.
By making it to the podium, Jung disappointed the 2014 European junior champion Anna Korakaki of Greece. The 18-year old athlete placed in fourth with 156.9 points after the 16th shot, finishing just 0.1 points shy of taking a medal and a Rio 2016 Quota place as she scored a 10.4 shot to Jung's 10.5 that decided her elimination.
The Thai finalist Klaisuban Pim On (22), at her debut in an ISSF world cup final round, took the fifth place with 136.5 points. She was followed by Canada's first-time finalist Lynda Kiejko (34), the only left-handed athlete among today's finalist, who scored 116.5 points to land in sixth place.
Tu Yi Yi Tzu (24) from Chinese Taipei, at her first appearance in an ISSF world cup medal match, paid her lack of experience as she fired a disappointing 7.8 on her tenth shot, dropping in seventh place and leaving the match with a score of 95.7 points. Beijing's 2008 Olympic silver medallist Natalia Paderina (39) from the Russian Federation followed her in the final rankings, taking the eighth place with a final score of 77.2 points.
The ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup held in Changwon, South Korea, from the 9th through the 15th of April, sees the participation of over 570 athletes from 68 countries. The competition will continue tomorrow with the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men medal match, to be broadcasted live on www.issf-sports.org at 14.00