The 50-year old shooter beat Italy's 30-year old world-record setter Luchini, and with a world cup Gold around his neck he will participate in the next ISSF World Championship trying to secure an Rio 2016 Quota to participate in his sixth Olympic edition.
An unstoppable Abdullah Alrashidi won the last medal match of the 2014 ISSF World Cup in all events in Beijing, China, the last world cup leg of the season.
The 50-year old champion from Kuwait pocketed his eighth world cup medal today. He started shooting back in 1989, and from there on he nailed a series of successes, such as three world championship titles, four world cup golds and six Asian titles. After participating in five Olympic editions (all Games since 1996), he's now looking forward to the next ISSF World Championship in Granada - to be held in September – where he would have a chance to qualify to participate in Rio 2016.
To finish atop today's podium, Alrashidi beat Italy's Valerio Luchini in the Gold medal match 16 to 15 hits, after hitting 14 targets in the semi-final, and 122 clays throughout the qualifications.
The Italian shooter had established a new World Record of 125 hits out of 125 targets at the end of the qualification, earlier today. Then, he led the semi-final hitting 14 targets and winning the shoot-off to access the Gold medal match. But there, he missed a fatal target on the second station, placing himself in second place.
Winning the Silver, 30-year old Luchini came back on an ISSF podium after missing since 2009. And, by establishing a new world record, he finished in the spotlights as the first shooter able to hit all the qualification targets since the new ISSF rules were introduced after the last Olympics.
Andrea Benelli, the 2004 Skeet Olympic Champion now coaching the Italian team, said: “I am happy for the results achieved by my guys here in Beijing. Both Scocchetti (in the Skeet Women event) and Luchini shot a world record. Italian shooters now hold world records in the Skeet Men and Women events, both individual and team, plus the individual and team Skeet Men Junior world records. I couldn't be more proud of them.”
Today's second Italian finalist, Angelo Moscariello, 22, pocketed the Bronze medal, beating the Russian Federation's Valery Shomin 16 to 15 hits in the Bronze medal match, securing his first world cup medal ever.
Hayden Stewart of the USA and Saif Bin Futtais of the UAE followed in fifth and sixth place with 13 and 12 hits in the semi-final, respectively.