Chinese shooters hog limelight on last day

China clinch two gold and one silver on the concluding day of the CISM championship

China hogged the limelight on the last day of the 49the CISM World Military Shooting Championship by winning three medals yesterday.
At the Losail shooting Range, China’s Zhenxiang and Yongde Jin won the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol gold and silver respectively, while France’s Fabrice Daumal claimed the bronze.
Xu Ying completed the Chinese domination by clinching the men’s individual skeet gold with a perfect score in the gold medal shoot-out in the last event of the day.
The 33-year-old from Hunan, who has been competing for the last 16 years in international competitions, took skeet gold beating off the challenge from Jan Sychra of Czech Republic 16-14 in the shoot-out.
In the final shoot-out, Xu shot down all the 16 targets which were thrown in his direction, while Sychra, the 47-year-old, who finished fifth at the 2012 London Olympic Games fumbled at the fag end missing two targets to give Xu the gold medal. Oskari Kossi of Finland took the bronze winning the shoot-out with Yang Wang of China (12-11).
In the team event, Xu along with Yang Wang and Fan Zhang shot down 364 clay pigeons in a new championship record to give the Chinese team the gold.
The Russian team of Aleksei Skorobogatov, Alexander Zemlin and Anton Astakhov, were on target 362 times but that was good enough for them to take only the silver, while Finland trio of  Oskari Kossi, Tomi Aspholm and Miikka Peltonen took the bronze.
Chinese men won the 25m centre fire pistol event, winning both the individual and team gold Wednesday.
Hosts Qatar were pushed to the fourth spot having shot 354 targets two less the bronze winning team. China’s third gold medal came in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol men’s event. Zhenxiang Xie took the top spot followed by compatriot Yongde Jin. Fabrice Daumal finished third.
In the other medals decided yesterday, Norway took two gold while Germany and Thailand walked away with one each. Norway’s twin gold medals came in the 300m Rapid Fire Rifle, individual and team. Arne Odd Brekne along with Aannestad Kim-Andre Lund and Boe Kristian Hans helped Norway take the gold while Austrian trio of Alexander Schmirl, Bernhard Pickl and Gernot Rumpler took the silver followed by Denmark team of Lars Jepsen, Allan Aagaard and Steffen Olsen took the bronze.
In the individual event, Arne Odd Brekne continued from where he left off from the team event to give Norway the gold while Bernhard Pickl of Austria took the silver while Aannestad Kim-Andre Lund baaged the bronze.
Thailand’s gold came in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol individual event for women. Naphaswan Yangpaiboon took gold while Michelle Skeries of Germany took silver followed by Hyun Joo Park of Korea. On Friday, Germany led by Skeries had won the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol team event, while Mongolia took the silver and Russia the bronze.