Tiro Esportivo - Um Esporte Mundial: Nanjing 2th Youth Olimpic Games

Pistol favorite Korostylov smoothly wins in Nanjing

The 16-year-old of Ukraine beat Korea's Kim by 3.6 points at the second shooting event of the competition

Pavlo Korostylov of Ukraine, the favorite at Men's 10m Air Pistol at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, proved to be a safe bet as he took over this morning's final with a staggering total score, 203.4, and a solid 3.6-point lead upon silver medallist Kim Cheongyong of Korea. 14-year-old of France Edouard Dortomb, the youngest finalist, secured the third step on the podium. Korostylov, 16, became the second gold medallist for shooting at Nanjing 2014 after Agata Nowak, who had won the women's event yesterday.

Korostylov stayed focused despite the clapping and cheering from the stands at the Fangshan Shooting Hall, as well as some background music which nicely filled the voids between the shots. (The first round was accompanied by The Police's "Every Breath You Take".) “Music is not a problem [to me],” he said. “[I just try to] empty my mind and not think of anything [else].”

The closest contender of Korostylov, Kim, 17, was in a tie for first place right at the beginning, when both he and Armenia's Zaven Igityan had had the same score in the first series (30.4). Kim then kept shooting consistently, always nearing the top position. But when he found himself fighting a duel with Korostylov, he was already 4.0 points behind him with only two shots to go. That was too much for Kim, who settled for the silver (199.8).

About halfway through the event, Kim was in a tie with Dortomb. The French wasn't eventually able to keep up with his Korean opponent, but claimed third place (178.6). “I'm 14 years old, this is extraordinary for me,” he said. “I feel really good.” Like Korostylov, Dortomb wasn't bothered by the loud crowd nor by the music. “I just concentrated on my shooting,” he said. “I'm used to [the noise].” What Dortomb wasn't probably used to was such a major competition as the Youth Olympics. “The organization is giant,” he said amazed.

As, after the eighth shot, Sukhrab Turdyyev of Kazakhstan, 16, was leaving the competition to take last place (76.7), Bulgaria's Aleskandar Todorov, a peer of Turdyyev, had just taken the lead. Todorov, though, wasn't then able to keep it, ending up in fourth (156.0). Igityan, 15, was fifth (137.4), whereas Uzebkistan's Vladimir Svechnikov was sixth (117.6). Wu Jiay, who was competing on his home turf, was just seventh (98.1).

Today's winner managed not to feel any pressure at all. “It was just the same as a training session,” said Korostylov, who added that whether it's “a competition inside Ukraine or a European Championship,” that makes no difference to him. All he thinks of anyway is to “score every point.” Korostylov had won a bronze medal earlier this season, his first as a Senior, at the World Cup in Munich in June; there, he had confessed us that he wouldn't like shooting as a child, and back then, his mum would pay him some money to have him on the range.

Alexander Kaminskyy, Korostylov's three-time Olympian coach, easily outlined his pupil's way to Rio 2016. “We'll go the World Championship in Granada [in September],” he said. “And if possible we'll take a quota for the Olympic Games.” But there will be no changes at Korostylov's preparation. “Why change?” Kaminskyy said. “Good results. Same.” And he's right, of course.

Alessandro Ceschi