China resumed its domination of the ISSF World Cup Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun in Baku with four more medals in the 10m air rifle category – gold and silver in the men’s final, silver and bronze in the women’s.
Such was the quality of the women’s final that, a day after setting a qualifying world record of 636.3 points, China’s world champion and world record holder Han Jiayu had to settle for bronze behind her 17-year-old compatriot Zifei Wang.
And both had to cede to Korea’s 24-year-old Keum Jihyeon, whose total of 253.4 was only 0.6 off the world record set by Han at last year’s Baku World Cup and enough to earn her a first individual World Cup gold.
Gold and silver in the first final of the day at the Olympic Shooting Range came courtesy of 19-year-old Sheng Lihao (pictured) and 21-year-old Du Linshu - the former claiming victory with his final shot – and with bronze going to Korea’s 24-year-old Park Hajun.
China now leads the medals table in Baku with a total of 10 – three gold, three silver and four bronze – and Korea is second with a gold, silver and bronze.
Despite her epic performance in qualifying, Han trailed Wang and Keum from the first of the elimination rounds.
The 22-year-old, who won her world title on this range last year, managed to get back into the silver-medal position with one shot remaining in the penultimate round after scoring 10.5 to Wang’s 10.1.
A final effort of 10.3 proved insufficient to keep her in the competition, however, as her younger compatriot moved back ahead of her with a 10.7.
That took Wang into gold medal contention with Keum, but the odds were against her as she trailed 231.3 to 232.5.
The Korean athlete, who had only qualified in sixth place, showed no sign of weakness as she scored 10.5 and 10.4 to finish with her total of 253.4, with Wang taking silver on 252.3.
“This is my first gold medal in international competition so my adrenaline is still pumping right now!” Keum told ISSF TV. “I think this will help in getting a medal at the Olympics.”
Britain’s Seonaid McIntosh, who had claimed the last place in qualifying, had been the last athlete to keep in touch with this awesome trio.
She finished fourth, one place ahead of Mary Tucker of the United States, who had beaten Misaki Nobata of Japan to reach that point.
Romania’s Roxana Sidi was seventh, with France’s Oceanne Muller, who had finished second in qualifying on 633.3, looking distinctly underwhelmed at being the first athlete to make her exit.
The men’s final was an even more dramatic affair, with Sheng – who became the youngest ever Olympic shooting medallist when he claimed silver in this event at the Tokyo 2020 Games aged 16 – winning an intense struggle with his compatriot Du, who has been selected in this event and the 50m rifle 3 positions at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Sheng, who set the qualifying world record of 637.9 points at last year’s Baku World Cup, had shown similar aplomb in topping qualifying this time round on 636.0 and he led from the first until the penultimate round.
At that point Du edged ahead of him by 230.6 to 230.3, with Park settling for bronze on 229.8.
But Sheng cut the margin to 0.1 as he scored 10.7 to Du’s 10.5, and after the latter had scored 10.3 with his final effort the Tokyo 2020 silver medallist resumed the top step of the podium with 10.8. He marked his triumph with the faintest of smiles.
Sheng, who had earned gold in Saturday’s 10m air rifle mixed team event, told ISSF TV: “This range is huge and beautiful, and I feel comfortable here. Baku is by the sea, so the wind and weather are also comfortable for me. Now I am going back to training and working hard for the next World Cup in Germany.”
Italy’s Danilo Sollazzo, who had finished second in qualifying on 633.7, missed the podium by one place, with fifth place going to Australia’s Jack Rossiter and sixth place to Turkey’s Mert Nalbant.
Rylan Kissell of the United States was seventh, and France’s Lucas Kryzs eighth.