Final Trap Women

ISSF World Cup Final Rifle / Pistol / Shotgun · New Delhi, IND

Competing against an extremely talented and decorated group of shooters, and also dealing with an index-finger injury, the young Italian shooter raised her first ever ISSF trophy in New Delhi, preceding Silver medal winner Fatima Galvez of Spain and Bronze medal winner Ray Bassil of Lebanon.

The Trap Women final at the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi (IND) saw a young, talented and reckless 21-year-old secure the first ISSF crystal globe of her career, as Italy’s Alessia Iezzi faced and beat a panel of shooters that included former ISSF World Champion Fatima Galvez (30) of Spain, Rio 2016 Gold medalist Catherine Skinner (27) of Australia and two-time Olympic medalist Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova (33) of Slovakia.

After entering the final with the second highest qualification score, Iezzi warmed up quickly, missing four total clays in her first three series and closing the first half of the match with 10 straight hits.

As her rivals started missing more, Iezzi kept shooting consistently, climbing up the table and entering the 10 final targets with a 1-hit advantage on Spanish shooter Fatima Galvez (30). There, with a decisive point in her hands, she missed the very last clay of the match, tying the score at 41 and thus extending the final.

In the following shoot-off, however, it was Galvez who surrendered first, missing her second additional target and letting Alessia Iezzi burst in joy.

“I still can’t believe it,” said the Italian. “I was going through some tough times with my shooting: even the other day, in the Trap Mixed Team event, I shot pretty badly, then I talked about with my coach and we laid out a plan for today… And it worked!”

“During the final I was in a lot of pain, but I tried not to think about it,” added Iezzi, who also had to deal with a painful index-finger injury she suffered during the qualification round, when the trigger of her gun caused a cut on her pad. “I tried not to think about anything, nor the blood or the score. So when I heard the sound of the miss it took me a moment to figure it out. It’s been the best feeling ever!”

For Galvez it’s the second World Cup Final medal after the Bronze won in Nicosia (CYP) in 2015.

Despite crushing 24 of her first 25 targets, Lebanon’s 29-year-old Ray Bassil finished in 3rd place, missing seven of the following 15 and concluding with 32 hits out of 40 targets.

The Gold medalist of this year’s World Cup stage in New Delhi almost stepped on the podium of the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range for a second time: Australia’s Penny Smith, indeed, placed in 4th position with 28 target hits out of 35, missing the podium by just 1 hit.

London 2012 Silver medalist Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova of Slovakia hit 24 out of 30 clays, missing her very last one and taking 5th place, while Rio 2016 Olympic Champion Catherine Skinner, also of Australia, left the match after 25 targets, finishing 6th with 18 hits.

The ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi (IND) will conclude tomorrow with the three last finals: the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men, scheduled at 11:15 am (UTC+5:30); the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men, scheduled at 1:00 pm; and the Trap Men, scheduled at 4:30 pm.