(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Chinthana Wasala |
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Hungary's World No.1 Zalan Pekler kept his favourite tag intact with another title win while Poland's Aneta Stankiewicz secured women's Gold medal in the 10m air rifle finals on the second day of the ISSF World Cup Final in Lusail.
At the Lusail Shooting Complex, yesterday, the 23-year-old Pekler finished with a narrow 1.8-point lead over his closest rival Serbia's Lazar Kovacevic to clinch the gold medal in the men's final after staging a magnificent comeback.
“I am still shaking a little bit because this final was really nerve-wracking”, Pekler, 23, told ISSF TV in a post-event interview.
In a tense final, Pekler only managed to seize the lead in the penultimate round, leading with 1.4 points ahead of Kovacevic. Despite a slight hiccup of a 9.8 score, Pekler recovered as he concluded with an impressive 10.7 to finish with a total of 251.2. Kovacevic faced an uphill task in the final round, and could earn only 249.4 points after scoring 10.3 and 9.5 in his last two rounds.
“It is always very special to come to a competition as world-ranked number one. It is always a little extra pressure, but I am really happy that I could achieve this amazing result in the final and also in the qualification,” Pekler said.
The battle for bronze also saw a dramatic turn of events as European Games bronze medallist Jiri Privratsky from the Czech Republic managed to shrug off a fierce challenge by China's Yang Haoran, who enjoyed a slight lead over the 22-year-old until the halfway mark.
Privratsky finished with a total of 229.5 in third place, while the World Championship silver medallist and Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, Haoran eventually finished with a score of 208.7, in fourth position.
Japan's Naoya Okada, who dominated the qualifying rouns as well as the first two series of five shots, took a downturn in the later stages, ultimately finishing in fifth spot in the final round.
Meanwhile, the women's final also saw gripping drama.
Early on, it seemed that China's formidable trio – the world champion and record holder Han Jiayu, World No.2 Zhilin Wang, and 17-year-old world No.3 Yuling Huang – were heading for a repeat of the clean sweep achieved by their teammates in the 10m pistol event on the opening day.
The trio had dominated the qualifying rounds, securing the top three spots, but only the 20-year-old Wang could secure a podium spot.
Despite an intense battle, the 28-year-old Aneta Stankiewicz, the eldest in the final, surged into the lead while delivering a series of high scores, including an impressive 10.8 and four 10 to win the gold with a total of 253.3 points.
Wang, despite finishing with two strong 10, concluded with 252.6 points for silver medal. Norway's Jeanette Duestad claimed the bronze.
“Maybe I am not the youngest, but I have the big experience, and I have to live with this,” Stankiewicz said after winning the world title.
The shotgun events will take centrestage today and will feature the men's and women's trap and skeet finals.
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