ISSF World Cup in Gabala: day 2 preview

50m Pistol Men

 

The second competition day in at the Gabala Shooting Club will kick-off with the men’s 50m Pistol final, where India’s Jitu Rai (29) and Amanpreet Singh (29) will be under the spotlight, after pocketing the Gold-Silver combo at this year’s World Cup stage in New Delhi (IND).

 

Islamic Republic of Iran’s 33-year-old Vahid Golkhandan, who climbed on the podium alongside Rai and Singh, will compete in Gabala.

 

Five-time World Cup Gold medalist in this event Tomoyuki Matsuda (41) of Japan will lead a pack of experienced shooter battling for a spot among the finalists, including Ukraine’s 33-year-old Oleh Omelchuk, Gold medalist at last year’s World Cup stage in Rio de Janeiro (BRA), and Serbia’s 33-year-old Damir Mikec, a three-time World Cup Gold medalist in this event.

 

Mikec’s teammate Dimitrije Grigic (32) will also be among the favorites, as he will try to best the 3rd place he mailed last month in Munich (GER).

 

The Azerbaijani home team will be represented by Rahim Rahimov (37), participating in the first international competition of his career.

 

The final is scheduled at 11:00 am (UTC+4:00) and it will be live streamed on the ISSF official Facebook page, on issf-sports.org and on its Livestream channel.

 

25m Pistol Women

 

The second event on the schedule will be the women’s 25m Pistol.

 

The two Gold medalists of this year’s previous World Cup stages, Thailand’s Naphaswan Yangpiboon and People’s Republic of China’s Zhang Jing, will both compete in Gabala, looking for their second win of the season.

 

Zhang will shoot alongside her teammate Lin Yuemei (23) and Meng Qin (38).

 

Two of Rio 2016 medalists will surely be among the favorites for a spot in the final match: Monika Karsch (34) of Germany and Heidi Diethelm Gerber (48) of Switzerland, respectively ranked 3rd and 4th in the world.

 

Eight-time Olympian Nino Salukvadze (48) is going to shoot for her 10th World Cup Gold medal in this event, while two-time Olympic Champion Maria Grozdeva (44) of Bulgaria will go for her 14th one.

 

Azerbaijan home team will lineup 49-year-old Zarifa Kasoumova and 29-year-old Nigar Nasirova.

 

The final is scheduled at 1:00 pm (UTC+4:00) and it will be live streamed on the ISSF official Facebook page, on issf-sports.org and on its Livestream channel.