Thi
The ELEY team has enjoyed even more success at the third ISSF World Cup of the 2019 season in Munich.
The German city provided the backdrop for what’s been an exhilarating World Cup for shooters from all over the world. 902 athletes from 96 nations travelled to Munich to take part in the competition hoping to secure a ticket to Tokyo.
50m 3P rifle men’s
It was the men’s 50m 3P that kicked off ELEY’s triumph with seven out of eight finalists putting their trust in ELEY tenex. And it paid off. Both Korean shooter Kim Jonhyung and Serbia’s Milutin Stevanovic seized the quota places for their home country.
10m air pistol men’s
Next up, the men’s 10m Air Pistol. ELEY athlete and current World number one, Artem Chernousov took to the firing line after qualifying with a score of 589. And it’s no surprise he is where he is. Striking the target with ELEY tenex air, his first shot scored a huge 10.8. He then sent the second sent straight through the same hole, another 10.8.
A closely fought battle between the Russian shooter and India’s Chaudry Saurabh put Artem in second place to take home silver – his third ISSF World Cup medal.
25m pistol women’s
The final event of the day was the women’s 25m Pistol. The pressure was on, with another two quota places for the taking. Fighting to remain in the top three, team ELEY’s Antoaneta Boneva was up against German shooter Doreen Vennekamp.
Using ELEY tenex pistol, Boneva struck the targets she needed to stay in the running and secure the quota place for Bulgaria. Making it an all ELEY shoot off for the final three, Rahi Sarnobat, Olena Kostevych and Antoaneta Boneva were pitted against each other.
Boneva bagged bronze with 26 hits and it all came down to the final shot to decide between gold and silver. With just one point difference, Kostevych needed to hit the target to bring it to a level playing field. However, unstoppable Sarnobat also didn’t miss a beat. Hitting the target to keep her one point lead, Sarnobat finished in first position with a score of 37. A fantastic final.
Using ELEY tenex pistol, Boneva struck the targets she needed to stay in the running and secure the quota place for Bulgaria. This meant it was an all ELEY shoot off for the final three as Rahi Sarnobat, Olena Kostevych and Antoaneta Boneva were pitted against each other.
Boneva bagged bronze with 26 hits and it all came down to the final shot to decide between gold and silver. With just one point difference, Kostevych needed to hit the target to bring it to a level playing field. However, unstoppable Sarnobat also didn’t miss a beat, hitting the target to keep her one point lead and finish in first position with a score of 37. A fantastic final.
10m air rifle men’s
On day three of the Munich World Cup, it was the men’s 10m air rifle that took centre stage. After the first shot series, team ELEY’s Petar Gorsa claimed the top spot with Oleh Tskarkov in 2nd, just 0.5 behind.
As more shooters were knocked out, the stakes were high with only a few decimal points between the leaders. Team ELEY’s Tskarov was in a dangerous position fighting to keep his place in the final. A deep breath in and steady pull on the trigger meant he shot a 10.9 to take the quota place for Ukraine. Gorsa went on to compete in the closely fought final to take second place using ELEY tenex air.
Despite the poor weather conditions, qualification for the women’s 50m 3P was of an incredibly high standard. Team ELEY’s Jenny Stene shot a fantastic score of 1185 during qualifying to smash the current world record by 5 points.
50m 3P rifle women’s
The penultimate day of competitions saw another all ELEY final three in the women’s 50m 3P. Great Britain’s Seonaid McIntosh had already smashed the national world record during qualifying and was ready to take on the competition.
However, despite leading for the majority of the final, Seonaid’s very last shot scored just 9.5. This slipped her into second place with a total score of 461.4. It was Russia’s Yulia Zykova who, after shooting a 10.6, managed to take her first-ever ISSF World Cup gold and quota place. This despite being in second position for most of the final.
Norway’s Katrine Lund claimed third place as well as a coveted quota place for her home country.
10m air pistol women’s
One of the last individual events was a closely contested women’s 10m air pistol final. Here, ELEY’s Anna Korakaki managed to claw back points after dropping down the leaderboard into third. Shooting a 10.5 she came out victorious with 241.1 points – just 0.8 ahead of China’s Wei Qian.
A brilliant world cup, teamELEY has taken eight out of twelve small-bore medals and four air competition medals. This is as well as eight quota places and numerous world records broken nationally and internationally.
Despite the final ISSF World Cup of the year not taking place until the end of August in Rio de Janeiro, there’s no rest for our shooters. They will be heading to Minsk in a couple of weeks to take part in the second European Games. Best of luck to all attending.
