Serbia’s Andrea Arsovic won the 10m Air Rifle Women final at the ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup Final held in Bologna, Italy, today.
The 29-year old shooter scored 209.0 points, leading throughout the second half of the round. She beat the 2012 Olympic Champion and Rio 2016 bronze medalist Yi Siling of the People’s Republic of China, who closed the match in second with 208.7 points.
The 2016 Olympic Champion, USA’s Virginia Thrasher, secured bronze with a score of 185.5 points. Another Olympic champion, Athens’ gold medalist Du Li of the People’s Republic of China, took the 6th place with 144.3 points, while the title defender – Elaheh Ahmadi of the Islamic Republic of Iran – closed in 8th place with 80.7 points.
“I am very happy that I finally won the ISSF Globe. I have been trying for a long time,” said Arsovic, who had won two World Cup Final silver medals (2013. 2014) and a bronze (2015). “I came here in Bologna to win. The Chinese shooter is very strong, but I finally made it.” Yi Siling, her Chinese opponents who took today’s silver, had won the 2011. 2013 and 2014 ISSF World Cup Finals, reigning over the discipline for years.
“The Olympics did not turn in the way I expected,” added Arsovic, who placed in 26th in Rio, two months ago, in spite of walking into the competition as one of the top favorites. “That was really hard. I had prepared for years for that event. But when I got back home I received a lot of support from my family and the people around me. That gave me the strength to continue, and to go for another Olympic cycle. Today’s victory is also a great motivation.”
At the following 10m Air Rifle Men final, it was Hungary’s Peter Sidi who claimed the brightest medal, sealing his victory with a great 10.8 last shot, and a total score of 207.7 points.
His closest opponent, the Rio 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist Vladimir Maslennikov of the Russian Federation, claimed silver with 207.2 points, while Bronze went to Iran’s Hossein Bagheri with 186.1 points.
“The match went really well. I had some up and downs, and I am extremely happy that I made it to the top of the podium,” said 38-year old Sidi. The experienced shooter had already won a world cup final back in 2003, in Milan, as well as two world cup final silver and two bronze medals.
“Rio 2016 did not end up in a medal, but I was happy to be in the final,” he continued. Sidi, a five-time Olympian and the current world record holder, placed in 5th in Rio. “After the Games I took some time off, but just a couple of weeks, then I went back to work again,” he added. “And this is not my last match. Next week-end I will be competing in the German Bundes Liga, I really believe that competing is the best training you can get, in our sport. So I am always competing, and I will keep on doing so on my road to Tokyo 2020”
10m Air Rifle Women results, click here.
10m Air Rifle Men results, click here.
