Ninety-one shooters coming from 35 countries will take part in this year’s Final. Only the best twelve shooters of each of the ten Olympic shooting events of Rifle and Pistol were invited to compete in the World Cup Final. The Olympic medallists of Beijing 2008 will face the World Cup Final title defenders, and the best eight shooters qualified through the 2008 ISSF World Cup season.
The ISSF Technical Delegate Carlos Rene Silva Monterroso welcome the shooters at the opening ceremony held today at the shooting range “It is an honour to be here. Only the best of the bests are selected to compete in this final – said Mr. Monterroso – In behalf of our President Mr. Olegario Vàzquez Raña I would like to welcome our shooters, and to thanks our hosts.”
The President of the Asian Shooting Confederation, Sheikh Salman S.S.H. Al Sabah, thanked the people and the government of Thailand for the support given in the organization of this World Cup Final “This is the second consecutive time that the ISSF World Cup Final is held in Thailand, this is a clear sign of interest in our beloved sport and we thank the sport authority and the shooting federations of Thailand – said Sheik Al Sabah – We also thanks the ISSF President Olegario Vàzquez Raña, for entrusting and supporting the Asian Shooting Confederation”.
Sheik Al Sabah also awarded a commemorative plate to the Asian Olympic Medallists of Beijing , remarking the excellent results reached by Asian shooters at the 2008 Games.
The official start to the World Cup Final was given by the President of the National Shooting Sport Association of Thailand, Mr. Pongpol Adireksarn “We welcome the best shooters of the world in Thailand. Good luck to you all!”
The competition will start tomorrow morning, when the first finals will take place starting from 11.30 AM Bangkok time.
Check the schedule and follow the competition on ISSF.TV, the best place to watch your sport live.
The Olympic Champions
Eight of the ten Olympic Champions of Beijing will compete on the firing lines of Bangkok, in this year’s World Cup Final. Only Katerina Emmons of Czech Republic and Abhinav Bindra of India are not here to take part in the competition.
| EVENT | NAME | NOC |
| 10m Air Rifle Women | Katerina EMMONS | CZE |
| 10m Air Pistol Men | PANG Wei | CHN |
| 10m Air Pistol Women | GUO Wenjun | CHN |
| 10m Air Rifle Men | Abhinav BINDRA | IND |
| 50m Pistol Men | JIN Jong Oh | KOR |
| 25m Pistol Women | CHEN Ying | CHN |
| 50m Rifle Prone Men | Artur AYVAZIAN | UKR |
| 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men | Oleksandr PETRIV | UKR |
| 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men | QUI Jian | CHN |
| 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women | DU Li | CHN |
The Title Defenders
Nine out of the ten title defenders will participate in this year’s World Cup Final, trying to confirm the medals won here in Thailand exactly one year ago.
| EVENT | NAME | NOC |
| 10m Air Rifle Women | DU Li | CHN |
| 10m Air Pistol Men | Vladimir ISAKOV | RUS |
| 10m Air Pistol Women | Natalia PADERINA | RUS |
| 10m Air Rifle Men | ZHU Qinan | CHN |
| 50m Pistol Men | LIN Zhongzai | CHN |
| 25m Pistol Women | CHEN Ying | CHN |
| 50m Rifle Prone Men | Warren POTENT | AUS |
| 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men | Ralf SCHUMANN | GER |
| 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men | Matthew EMMONS | USA |
| 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women | YIN Wen | CHN |