ISSF Junior World Cup Shotgun · Porpetto, ITA

The 19-year old Italian shooter beat USA’s Christian Elliott and his teammate Matteo Chiti to win the last final match of the 2017 ISSF Junior World Cup in Porpetto, Italy.

The Skeet Men Junior final closed the 2017 ISSF Junior World Cup in shotgun events in Porpetto, Italy, today.

Once again, host country Italy turned out to be the protagonist of the competition, placing two athletes on the podium in first and third position, while USA secured silver.

Elia Sdruccioli, 19, at his second participation in an ISSF Junior World Cup, claimed the brightest medal on his home turf with 57 hits out of 60 targets in the final, turning out to be unreachable as he set a new junior world record.

Sdruccioli shattered the previous record of 55 hits, established by Johan Birklykke of Denmark at the European Championship in Baku, on the 1st of August 2017.

Sdruccioli said:

“It has been a difficult competition, due to the weather conditions. It has been quite hot down here in Porpetto, and yesterday - during the first competition day - the wind kicked-in and disturbed us during the match.”

The Italian shooter made it to the final with the second-highest qualification score,119 +2 hits, facing some of the best junior shooters of the world in the medal match.

“Today, I started-off the final with a lot of emotions,” he continued, “I was a bit stressed. But then I zeroes in, and I finally calmed down as I saw the other finalists missing some clays, and therefore my lead increasing series after series.”

“I have been training a lot for this. I started the season in February, training five days a week, morning and afternoon, both on the range and at the gym. Hard work pays off.”

“I am now preparing for the ISSF World Championship in Moscow. In about ten days I will fly to Russia, and that’s my next goal to accomplish. Then, of course, I am looking forward to the next two years. To participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is a dream.”

USA’s Christian Elliott, 19, currently ranked 63rd in the world as he competed in a seniors’ world cup in Larnaka (CYP) earlier this year, finished in second place with 55 hits, clinching his first international medal ever.

Elliott left in third place the second Italian finalist, Matteo Chiti, 19, who pocketed today’s bronze medal with 44 hits.

The 2015 European Championship junior silver medalist, Eetu Kallioinen of Finland, 19, took the 4th place with a score of 36 targets. He was followed by the reigning junior world champion, Italy’s Valerio Palmucci, 5th with 25 hits, and by USA’s first-time participant Elijah Keith Ellis, 16, who took the 6th place with 16 hits.