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World champion Zhang wins China's 3rd gold at shooting World Cup

Xinhua, May 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

The reigning world champion Zhang Jingjing claimed the third gold medal for China out of four events in two days here on Friday at the shooting World Cup.

Zhang, 27, qualified for the gold-medal match of the women's 25- meter pistol event together with Thailand's Tanyaporn Prucksakorn after shooting consistently throughout the semifinal. In the final round, Zhang, the winner of the World Championships in Granada, 2014, led since the first series and sealed the gold medal with a 7-to-1 victory.

"Even if I am the reigning world champion and I have already had an Olympic ticket, there's always a lot of pressure in the international competitions," Zhang told the International Shooting Sport Federation. "I love shooting. My father was a shooter. It's an addictive sport. I chose the pistol because I think it's one of the most challengings."

Prucksakorn, despite a disappointing final round, consoled herself with an Olympic ticket for her country. Yuliya Alipova from Russia claimed the bronze medal after beating Bulgaria's Antoaneta Boneva.

Earlier in the day, Zhang Jingjing's young compatriot Zhang Bowen won a silver medal in the men's 50m pistol event, only behind Portugal's four-time Olympian Joao Costa.

Costa, 50, ruled the final by scoring 194.7 points, winning his third World Cup gold medal in Munich and also in the whole 23 years of career.

Despite starting the final in the lower end of the table, Zhang, 19, climbed the scoreboard patiently and finished on the second place with 188.5 points on his second World Cup experience. The Chinese youngster only started to compete in adult category this year and won a gold medal in his first attempt in Changwon, South Korea, in April.

The Bronze medal went to Japanese veteran Tomoyuki Matsuda, who also claimed an Olympic quota place for his country.

The World Cup in Munich was the third leg for the rifle and pistol events of the year. In the opening day, China's Olympic champions Zhu Qinan and Yi Siling won a gold medal in the men's and women's 10m air rifle events respectively. Endite