25M RAPID-FIRE PISTOL MEN
Home fans will be paying particularly close attention to an event in which France will be able to field not only the defending champion, Jean Quiquampoix, but also a team-mate who has won two world silvers since the Tokyo 2020 Games, Clement Bessaguet.
Germany will also have a big interest in this competition given the presence of their 37-year-old Beijing 2008 bronze medallist and Rio 2016 champion Christian Reitz and 24-year-old World Cup Final gold medallist Florian Peter.
But the European challengers will be face a huge challenge from China’s 34-year-old Li Yuehong, who set a world record of 39 points in winning the world title in Baku last year, and his team-mate Wang Xinjie, who earned silver in one of the finals held at the Baku World Cup.
Li, who won Olympic bronze in this event at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games, looks very capable of doing as well or better in Paris – something he has underlined with victories in the two most recent ISSF World Cups in Baku and Munich.
That has earned him second place in the ISSF world rankings, one place behind Bessaguet, 32, who won a medal at four of last season’s six World Cup and has maintained that kind of consistency this year.
The ISSF Male Athlete of the Year for 2023 won silver at the Final Olympic qualifier in Rio de Janeiro, silver and bronze in the two finals at the Baku World Cup and another bronze in the concluding World Cup in Munich.
But his 28-year-old compatriot Quiquampoix, who also won Olympic silver in 2016, made clear his Paris possibilities by earning an Olympic quota place following a third-place finish at the Final Olympic qualifier in Rio in April.
Peter, world bronze medallist, followed up his breakthrough win in last November’s Doha World Cup final - where he led from start to finish in a contest where Li had to settle for silver - with a strong showing in 2024 that has left him world-ranked 3.
The man who loves to note his progress as he goes along in competition won bronze at the Cairo World Cup, and at his home World Cup in Munich he equalled the 10-year-old qualifying world record of 593 although he just missed a place on the podium.
Reitz, meanwhile, has overcome some technical challenges to finish the season strongly, taking European bronze and then earning silver in Munich behind the Czech Republic’s Dr Martin Podhrasky, who underlined his own Paris potential having won at the previous Rio Olympic qualifier.
Also in the hunt for medals will be the Republic of Korea’s Song Jong-Ho, who won bronze at the Asian Championships and Baku World Cup and gold at the World Cup in Cairo.
Kazakhstan’s Nikita Chiryukin will be very much in the mix following his Asian gold and subsequent silver at the Cairo World Cup, as will Cuba’s Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Leuris Pupo, who won the Americas title in Buenos Aires.
India’s hopes will be carried by Anish Bhanwal and Asian silver medallist Vijayveer Sidhu, who is world-ranked 17.
Asia Olympic Qualification/Champs Rifle/Pistol – Jakarta Jan
Nikita Chiryukin (KAZ), Vijayveer Sidhu (IND), Song Jong-ho (KOR)
ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun Cairo Jan-Feb
Song Jong-Ho (KOR), Nikita Chiryukin (KAZ), Florian Peter (GER)
Olympic Qualification CAT XIV Rifle/Pistol Buenos Aires March-April
Leuris Pupo (CUB), Jorge Alvarez (CUB), Kevin Altamirano Farfan (PER)
ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship Rifle/Pistol Rio de Janeiro April
Martin Podhrasky (CZE), Clement Bessaguet (FRA), Jean Quiquampoix (FRA)
ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun Baku May
(double finals in rifle and pistol following sole 10m competition at Granada WC)
First 25m rf pistol Martin Podhrasky (CZE) Wang Xinjie (CHN), Clement Bessaguet (FRA)
Second 25m rf pistol Li Yuehong (CHN), Clement Bessaguet (FRA), Song Jong-Ho (KOR)
European Championships 25m – 50m Rifle/Pistol Osijek May
Maksym Horodynets (UKR), Riccardo Mazzetti (ITA), Christian Reitz (GER)
ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol Munich May-June
Li Yuehong (CHN), Christian Reitz (GER), Clement Bessaguet (FRA)