“I am very, very happy! I work hard, and I always want to win more!” Said Zhang Jingjing of the People’s Republic of China, 27, after winning today’s 25m Pistol Women Final at the 2016 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Bangkok, which turned into an all-Asian match, as 8 out of 8 finalists came from the continent.
The Chinese shooter - currently ranked first in the world in this event - started the 2016 season in the best possible way, collecting another gold for her medal showcase.
No surprises there: Zhang is the reigning world champion and the world cup titleholder, as well as the reigning Asian Games champion.
Today, she proved she’s in great shape, on the road leading to Rio 2016.
Making it into the final with one of the highest qualification scores (586 points), she closed the semi-final atop of the table, with 19 hits.
In the Gold medal match, then, she met the 33-year old first-time finalist from South Korea, Park Hyun Joo, a no-match for the expert Chinese athlete, who secured the Gold medal with a score of 8 points to Park’s 4.
“In 2016, I want to improve, and win more medals!” Zhang said after the medal ceremony, talking about her preparation for Rio.
At the Games, she will certainly meet Mongolia’s Otryad Gundegmaa, 37, the 2008 Olympic Silver medallist who pocketed today’s Bronze.
Otryad is indeed ranked second in the world, as she finished on the podium at last year’s ISSF World Cup Final in Munich, and at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, always behind Zhang.
Today, she displayed her strong skills once again, by beating another first-time finalist - Tien Chia Chen of the Chinese Taipei (32) - with a net score of 8 to 2 points.
Tien Chia Chen had made it into Bronze medal-match by beating Vietnam’s Pham Thi Ha in a shot-off (2+4 to 2+2 hits) as the two had tied with 12 hits each at the end of the semi-final.
Following Pham (5th with 12 hits), Thailand’s flag bearer Yangpaiboon Naphaswan, 27, closed the match in 6th place with 10 hits, while Malaysia’s 38-year old finalist Ng Pei Chin Bibiana ended up in 7th with 9 hits (the best result in career for the Malaysian shooter, who’s ranked 121st in the world). People’s Republic of China’s first-time finalist Zhang Mengxue, 25, finished in 8th and last place, with 7 hits.
The 2016 ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, will continue tomorrow.
Day-3 will see the two more medal matches: the 50m Rifle Prone Men and the 10m Air Pistol Men finals, to be conducted at 11:00 and 13.15 (UTC+7), respectively. Finals will be broadcasted live on www.issf-sports.org
Medal standings after 4 out of 10 events
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHN |
3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | IND |
1 | 1 | ||
| 3 | AUT |
1 | 1 | ||
| 3 | KOR |
1 | 1 | ||
| 5 | HUN |
1 | 1 | ||
| 5 | MGL |
1 | 1 | ||
| 5 | SIN |
1 | 1 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |