Super 25. The favourite discovered: Pistol Women Events

“All of the ladies standing on the Olympic lines have the chance to win the Gold medal”, said the Olympic Champion Jasna SEKARIC of Serbia, the most favourite in the 10m Air Pistol Event. SEKARIC knows what she is talking about, she has been climbing Olympic podiums in pistol events since the Games of Seoul 1988, and at the age of 42 she still shooting atop of the international ranking “Who is going to be the less frightened? This is the question. Mind makes the difference, in our sport. And it is not easy to keep the focus at the Games. – continued Jasna – you can speak of “butterfly in the belly” during a regular competition, but those butterfly turn into dragons at the Olympics!” SEKARIC, silver medallist at the Games of Athens 2004, is running for her second Olympic Gold. But it will not be easy: on her way she could find the expert Chinese shooter Jie REN and the strong minded Natalia PADERINA of the Russian Federation.
Another athlete of the People’s Republic of China is the favourite in the 25m Pistol Women Event. Ying CHEN is in first in the Super 25 Ranking, but she will have to face a determined title defender, the Bulgarian shooter Maria GROZDEVA, who will try to reach her third, consecutive, Olympic title in “her” event.

10m Air Pistol Women Event

The Leader: Jasna SEKARIC
Nation: Republic of Serbia (SRB)
Year of birth: 1966
Super 25 Ranking: 1st
World Ranking (01/08/2008): 11th
OG Athens ’04 placement: 2nd
Best OG Placement: 1st (Seoul 1988)

“I have never let the people to forget about me” said to the ISSF NEWS magazine the five times Olympic medallist Jasna SEKARIC of Serbia, 42, probably the women who has won the highest number of medals with a pistol in the modern era of the shooting sport. At the age of 22 she won Gold and Bronze at her first participation at the Olympic Games of Seoul 1988 in the 10m Air Pistol and in the 25m Pistol Women Events, and from there on she kept on leading the world scene. SEKARIC stood on the Olympics podiums of Barcelona 1992, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, missing the award ceremony only in Atlanta, in 1996. The top Serbian shooter is the favourite once again, thanks to her consistency and solidity, but she will have to face strong opponents in Beijing. One of the athletes that could challenge her on the way to the podium is the home shooter Jie REN. A current World Record holder, Jie REN, 28, fights for the highest placements in every competition she participates in. In spite of taking part just in a fraction of the ISSF World Cup stages, she has been shooting in eight ISSF World Cup Finals, always entering the final round, and eventually winning the title in 2001. As happened before, she did not appear in many international competitions during the last two years, but in spite of it she reached interesting results as a Gold medal won at the 2006 ISSF World Cup held in Guangzhou, and a Silver medal earned at the 2007 ISSF World Cup Sydney. The Super 25 statistic also spots out the 33-year old Natalia PADERINA of the Russian Federation between the favourites. She has been winning almost every title, after the Olympic Games of Athens where she finished in fifth place. Her results dramatically improved since 2006, when she won the final round of the ISSF World Championships held in Zagreb with more than a point of advantage, and the ISSF World Cup Final in all events of Granada just a few weeks after. PADERINA confirmed her leadership in 2007, when she was called to defend her World Cup Final title in Bangkok, and in 2008, with good placements at the ISSF World Cup series.

Super 25 – 10m Air Pistol Women:

25m Pistol Women Event

The leader: Ying CHEN                    
Nation: People’s Republic of China (CHN)
Year of birth: 1977
Super 25 ranking: 1st
World ranking (01/08/2008): 6st
OG Athens ’04 placement: 4th
Best OG placement: 4th (Athens 2004)

The current World Champion Ying CHEN of China, 30, is one of the most favourite shooters to reach a placement on the 25m Pistol Women Olympic podium. Statistics show her in first place on the road to Beijing, and it couldn’t be different if taking in consideration the number of remarks gained by this Chinese shooter since the last Olympic Games of Athens. CHEN arrived there after winning the 2002 Asian Games, and proud of a Bronze medal earned at the 2002 ISSF World Championships of Lahti. But after entering the Olympic final round of Athens, she had to give way to skilled opponents, eventually landing in fourth place.
CHEN kept improving after that Olympic cycle, and her international placements are even better today then in 2004. She won the last World Championships of Zagreb in 2006, and she has led the 2006 Asian Games, as well as the 2007 Asian Championships of Kuwait City.
Being more experienced than in 2004, CHEN could be considered the best 25m Pistol shooter of the World nowadays, as she proved to be by winning the 2007 ISSF World Cup Final, next to an impressive series of World Cup medals during the pre-Olympic year. Sure, she will not be alone on the lines of the Olympic shooting range of Beijing, where she is going to meet senators as the Olympic multi-medallist Jasna SEKARIC of Serbia, and the determined Bulgarian shooter Maria GROZDEVA, the title defender who is running for her third consecutive Olympic title in this event.

Super 25 – 25m Pistol Women