Today’s 10m Air Pistol Women final ended up in a tough duel between the two-time Olympic Champion Guo Wenjun, 31, from the People’s Republic of China, and World Rank #11 Tien Chia Chen of Chinese Taipei, 32.
The two athletes moved atop of the table after the first shots, and then exchanged positions several times in first and second place, divided only by a few tenths of a point.
When only two shots were left to be fired, Tien Chia Chen had a 0.6 lead over Guo, but she lost her chances as she scored a frustrating 8.3 on her last shot, leaving the Gold medal to her Chinese opponents.
Guo climbed atop of the podium with a final score of 198.8 points. Tien collected Silver with 197.8 points.
“I have learned how to manage the stress of such situations through the years,” said Guo.
“As I am preparing for my third Olympics, I am trying to improve these psychological aspects of the game. You need good technical and physical preparation to compete, but a strong mind can make the difference in the fight for the medals.”
Guo is indeed preparing for Rio 2016, where she is looking for her third title back-to-back, after winning the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
“I never look at my previous medals,” she said. And that applies also to today’s Gold. “Every time I win a medal, I save it a home, and never look back at it again. Every competition is a new start.”
Guo’s teammate Zhang Mengxue of the People’s Republic of China, 25, joined her on the podium, as she took home today’s Bronze medal with 177.8 points, collecting another positive result here in Bangkok after she made it to the final match at the 25m Pistol Women final, two days ago (when she placed 6th).
The final fight for today’s medals was one of the best moments of this world cup stage, but the spectators crowding the final hall had an extra reason to cheer. Indeed, two Thai shooters - Klaisuban Pim On, 23, and Prucksakorn Tanyaporn, 26 - battled for a spot on the podium throughout the match. In spite of the huge support, they eventually closed the round in 4th and 5th places, with 156.4 and 136.1 points, respectively.
Mexico’s Alejandra Zavala, 31, was the first eliminated shooter, taking the 8th place with 76.1 points. The second finalist of the Chinese Taipei, Yu Ai Wen, 20 - who had only participated in two ISSF world cup final rounds before today’s medal match - ended up in 7th with 96.8 points.
Closing her final with a 9.6, it was Mongolia’s top-ranked pistol shooter, Otryad Gundegmaa, who took the 6th place with 116.4 points. The 37-year old shooter had won a Bronze at the 25m Pistol Women final, two days ago, here in Bangkok,
The ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, continues this afternoon with the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women final, which will be broadcasted live on www.issf-sports.org at 1.15 PM (UTC+7).