Huang wins tense battle to secure shooting gold

11.09.2016

China tops the podium again at Deodoro as Norberg is forced to settle for silver after injury hampers his preparation for Games.

Xing Huang survived a tense P3 (mixed 25m pistol SH1) battle with Sweden’s “silver bullet” Joackim Norberg to claim China’s third gold medal on day four of shooting para-sport.

“It’s my first Paralympic Games and my first Gold medal,” said Huang, “I have been shooting for more than 10 years and I achieved my goal and my dream came true.”

“It’s my honour to let China shine on the stage. It was my dream to make China more bright.”

Norberg is the world champion in this event, but injury problems altered his preparations for Rio.

“I worked quite hard with the injury and it’s the kind of injury that doesn’t just heal by itself so it’s a lot of exercising,” he said.

“I’m not really well – not 100% yet – but this trip I’ve been working with the physiotherapist for two weeks to keep me in good shape so that’s helped a lot,” said the silver medallist.

Despite not feeling perfect, Norberg was impressed with his efforts and was quick to commend the Chinese athlete on his performance.

“I didn’t expect anything, I just wanted to go in and try to perform my best and I know if I can have focus on the right thing and do the work on the shooting line than I know it can often be enough to hit the podium,” said the Swede.

“He [Huang] was tough because he was shooting very well. I got the lead at first, but he bounced back immediately then it was neck and neck.

“As it seemed, I had quite a lot of shots out of the ring and it is really small margins, but Huang got them in and that’s what counts.”

South Korea’s Juhee Lee collected his second medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympics having already won silver in P1 (men’s 10m air pistol SH1) earlier in the week.

Lee and Australia’s Chris Pitt went into battle for bronze after the Australian survived a fourth-place shoot-off with Ukrainian Oleksii Denysiuk.

Pitt and Lee picked up one point each in the opening series after both hit two out of the five targets.

In series two both athletes again shared one point each after hitting a single target.

Lee got the edge in the third series beating Pitt 1-0 to take full advantage of the two points on offer, extending his lead to four out of the seven points required to win.

With two points to make up, Pitt came out firing in the fourth series landing the first two targets and hitting the fourth for a total of three, but Lee’s accuracy was too good, hitting all five targets to secure the two points and increase his total to six.

Lee only needed a draw to win bronze, which is exactly how it unfolded with both athletes hitting one target each.

“I am very happy, but very tired,” said Lee.

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Source - https://www.paralympic.org/news/huang-wins-tense-battle-secure-shooting-gold

Vadovicova earns second shooting gold of Games

10.09.2016

Women hold their nerve to get the job done on day of mixed competition at the Olympic Shooting Centre.

Veronika Vadovicova celebrates second gold medal win at Rio 2016 © • IPC

By Jake Smith for the IPC

Veronica Vadovicova overcame a world-class field in R3 (mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1) to claim her and Slovakia’s second gold medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

And Veselka Pevec won a nail-biting battle for gold to earn Slovenia their very first gold medal of the Games in a much-anticipated R4 (mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2) final on Saturday (10 September).

Three women progressed to the R3 final with Vadovicova and silver medallist Natascha Hiltrop of Germany dominating from the onset. South Korea’s Jangho Lee secured the bronze medal in his debutParalympic Games.

“It’s a very big satisfaction for me,” said the double gold medallist Vadovicova.

“In R3 there are maybe 10 or 15 shooters who could win. I feel very well, but more tired this time because it’s a very tough competition.”

Vadovicova has a perfect record in Rio so far with two wins from two events and is already looking forward to sharing her success with the people of Slovakia.

“I want to inspire the children and I also work in a special program for people in Slovakia as a motivator,” she said.

“After the Paralympic Games I will visit many schools so I will take my medals to show them.

“Both medals feel great, one isn’t better than the other.”

Vadovicova knows the hard work isn’t finished yet with two more events on her schedule including R8 (women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1) on Tuesday (13 September) and R6 (mixed 50m rifle prone SH1) on the final day of competition for shooting para-sport (14 September).

“I still have two more competitions so I must rest and get some more sleep,” she said.

Hiltrop was the youngest competitor in the field, at just 24 years old, but was no stranger to the finals hall finishing sixth in London four years ago. The silver medal has motivated her to keep excelling in the sport.

“I don’t intend to stop shooting anytime soon” she said. “I am aiming for Tokyo, but right now I just want to give my best for my next competitions and what happens then, we will see.”

Hiltrop gained momentum as the final unfolded shooting three perfect 10.9’s in the round of single shots.

“I don’t really know how I did it, it just happened,” she said. “I am extremely happy and I can’t really believe it.”

The final field of eight athletes was reduced from 45 entrants in qualifications, which included a surprise early exit from two-time R3 Paralympic medallist Matt Skelhon of Great Britain. Skelhon finished the qualification round in 11th place, opening the door for the likes of Lee.

“It is my first time at the Paralympics and I just want to have some experience, not for the medals,” said the 27-year old bronze medallist.

His fellow countryman Jinho Park is the reigning R3 world champion and finished eighth in the final but, for Lee, he was more of a supporter than an opponent.

“Jinho and I are really close and also roommates at the village,” said Lee. “He helps me a lot and we spend a lot of time together.”

Pevec showed nerves of steel to pinch the R4 gold medal from her compatriot, Gorazd Francek Tirsek on the very last shot of the final. South Korea’s Geunsoo Kim collected bronze.

“Not even in my dreams did I think I could win,” said the debutant gold medallist. “I have achieved the maximum I possibly can.”

Tirsek held a 0.4 lead heading into the deciding shot and fired a 10.1 leaving it to Pevec to respond with something special. With a boisterous crowd behind her, Pevec pulled the trigger and produced a 10.7 to snatch victory from Tirsek.

“The whole final I was just thinking that I have to be focused on the target and I had to hit the middle,” she said.

“Actually, I didn’t really hear the crowd because when I train it is much louder than here.”

Tirsek won silver in London and was second again in Rio after having gold snatched in the dying seconds. Tirsek found consolation knowing his countrywoman was the one to overthrow him.

“The last shot was not my best so I am not happy,” said Tirsek. “But my friend from Slovenia won the gold medal so I am happy for that.”

The Slovenian faced stiff competition from Kim who challenged hard during the final to come within 0.3 of first place, but fell short towards the end to win a deserved bronze.

“Although I didn’t get the first or second prize I am very happy with bronze,” said Kim.

“I wanted to do as well as I did in practice, but it wasn’t like that,” he said. “Still, I have no regrets.”

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Source - https://www.paralympic.org/news/vadovicova-earns-second-shooting-gold-games

Javanmardidodmani’s delight at shooting gold for Iran

09.09.2016

“I have done all that I can do to tell my people that disability has no limitations,” says star after victory at Deodoro.

Sareh Javanmardidodmani of Iran celebrates a victory. © • Getty Images

By IPC

There was an historic gold for Iran’s Sareh Javamardidodmani and a convincing win for China’s Chao Yang on the second day of competition at the Olympic Shooting Centre in Deodoro.

Javanmardidodmani made history by becoming Iran’s first ever female gold medallist in shooting para-sport winning the P2 (women’s 10m air pistol SH1) event. Olga Kovalchuk of Ukraine secured silver and Turkey’s Aysegul Pehlivanlar collected bronze on debut.

“I am very happy that I could get the very first quota for the Islamic Republic of Iran and the very first gold medal for my delegation,” said Javanmardidodmani.

Poised from the get-go, Javanmardidodmani was in control from start to finish scoring a total of 193.4. Kovalchuk (191.2) wasn’t far behind nor was Pehlivanlar, who finished with 172.3 points.

Improving on her bronze medal from London, Javanmardidodmani was overjoyed with her historical achievements four years on.

“I have done all that I can do to tell my people that disability has no limitations,” she said. “I can say these words confidently to the people of my country after winning here today.”

Javanmardidodmani’s triumph in Rio adds to her remarkable P2 repertoire as the Paralympic, world and Asian Games champion, as well the qualification and finals world record holder.

“I will do my best to improve my records in future competitions and make the people of my country happy,” she added.

After finishing fourth in London, Kovalchuk was overwhelmed to find herself on the podium in Rio after an intense few seasons of training.

“It has been very difficult. We trained a lot and the psychological training was also quite difficult,” she said.

Kovalchuk hopes to back up her silver medal efforts in P2 with another strong performance in P4 (mixed 50m pistol SH1) on the final day of shooting in Rio.

“For me, P4 is quite a difficult event. I haven’t practised it a lot so we will see how I go,” she said. “It’s not always about winning a medal, it’s about overcoming the struggle with yourself.”

Appearing at the Paralympic Games for the first time, Pehlivanlar was thrilled to be in Brazil representing her country and to be taking home a medal.

“I don’t know how to tell my feelings in words. I knew I could do it so I was very cool inside,” she said. “I am very happy and very much enjoying Rio, but I will be more even more happier after this now that I got the medal.”

Having only taken up the sport a few years ago, Pehlivanlar has paved the way for a bright future in para-sport shooting.

“I am new and I would like to improve on myself. Shooting is the kind of sport where nothing is guaranteed, but I would like to improve myself very well,” she said.

In the P1 (men’s 10m air pistol SH1) final, Yang was awarded with China’s second gold medal inshooting and their seventh for the Games so far. South Korea’s Juhee Lee picked up silver and Uzbekistan’s Server Ibragimov won a gripping battle for bronze.

“This is my first Paralympic Games and the first time that I win the gold medal” said Yang.

“I am very excited and also animated because we did a lot of training and put in lots of effort.

“In China, my family and my friends gave me so much support and I feel very, very excited.”

Yang opened fire with a 10.3 and retained the lead for the entire nine series of the final. At one point he was a massive 4.1 points ahead of second place.

“There is no strategy, I just did my daily training very well and I practiced my basic skills so no strategies, just basic skills,” he explained.

Yang will put celebrations on hold until the end of the shooting schedule as he remains focused on his next two events P3 (mixed 25m pistol SH1) and P4 (mixed 50m pistol SH1).

“Tonight I will not have a celebration because we still have more competitions, but after all is done we will do some celebrations,” he said.

Already winning two P1 bronze medals from the last two Paralympic Games in Beijing and London, it was time for Lee to upgrade, although he admitted to being a little disappointed to miss out on gold.

Incredibly, Ibragimov survived a shoot-off for fifth place against South Korea’s Seo Youngkyun and went on to claim bronze.

After prevailing over Youngkyun, the former world record holder went head-to-head with Poland’s Szymon Sowinski in an edge-of-your-seat clash for the minor medal.

Needing to close a two-point margin, Ibragimov shot a 10.1 while Sowinski could only manage a 7.9, gifting the bronze medal to Ibragimov who is the first ever athlete to represent Uzbekistan in shooting at a Paralympic Games.

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Source - .https://www.paralympic.org/news/javanmardidodmani-s-delight-shooting-gold-iran

Gold for top shooters Vadovicova and Dong

08.09.2016

Slovakian recovers from a slow start to secure first place on dramatic first day of Paralympic shooting action at Rio Games.

Veronika Vadovicova gold medalist at Shooting R2 Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 Final© • (Photo by Raphael Dias/Getty Images for the International Paralympic Committee)

By IPC

Slovakia’s Veronica Vadovicova and China’s Chao Dong claimed top honours on the opening day of competition on Thursday (8 September) at the Olympic Shooting Centre in Deodoro.

Vadovicova secured one of the first gold medals of the Games after an exhilarating R2 (women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1) final with Chinese pair Cuiping Zhang and Yaping Yan rounding out the podium with second and third respectively.

Vadovicova said she was relieved to be back on top after failing to reach the podium in London.

“I was very upset in London because I wanted to win,” she said. “After the Paralympics I swapped coach, started training more, changed my technique and the results are shown here today.”

Vadovicova started slow with multiple 9’s, while Zhang escaped to an early lead forcing the world champion to overturn a deficit of 2.4 points to remain in contention for gold.

Vadovicova recovered in emphatic fashion shooting a series of near-perfect scores to claw her way back and pinch the lead from Zhang with just two rounds to go.

Zhang topped the qualifications (413.4) and carried her form into the final, shooting a consistent number of 10’s, but a lapse in concentration cost her dearly, relegating her from gold to silver.

“Honestly I am not very satisfied with my performance today because a few shots in the middle rounds didn’t match up to my expectations,” said the London gold medallist.

“I was a little bit nervous and overthinking.”

Despite her disappointment, Zhang was very happy to share the podium with fellow country-woman, Yan.

“To have more than one person from China in the top three is something you always hope for,” Zhang said.

The bronze medal went to 27-year old Paralympic debutant Yan who finished with a total score of 183.6.

“I didn’t expect to get a medal so I am very, very happy. I am still in shock and not realising that I have won a bronze,” said Yan.

“For me, being a disabled person and coming here to Rio and winning a medal really means a lot. It’s great encouragement for myself.”

The men’s defending Paralympic champion, Chao Dong, stormed to victory in the R1 (men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1) with a winning margin of 3.2 ahead of silver medallist from the UAE, Abdulla Sultan Alaryani and South Korea’s Suwan Kim claiming bronze.

Fittingly, Chao scored a perfect 10.9 in the very first shot of the final. His accuracy and precision remained with him throughout the match as he soared to back-to-back victory.

“The way of getting this medal is not at all easy, I feel really lucky,” said Chao.

“Shooting is about controlling your own conditions and it’s about having a stable mind to remain focused.

“It was totally out of my expectation to win the same colour medal in the exact same event.

“My family at home will be very happy because a gold medal at this level is different to any other competition, but if I didn’t win they would also be very happy”.

Alaryani secured silver to win his first Paralympic medal in R1. The Emirati’s performance today puts him in good stead for his three remaining events.

“I am always so happy when I get a medal and it comes with a lot of confidence for my other events this week,” he said.

“Standing events are not my strongest, but having the world record and winning multiple world cups gave me hope that I would do well today.”

South Korea had three participants in the final, but it was Kim who prevailed.

“I am very grateful to myself, but also to the whole country for winning this medal,” he said. “I hope all the other South Korean athletes will follow my suit and win some medals in the Paralympics.”

• Read more about Veronica Vadovicova’s journey to Rio gold in our interview with the Slovakian star.

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Source - https://www.paralympic.org/news/gold-top-shooters-vadovicova-and-dong

Day One preview: Shooting

08.09.2016

Shooting medals are the first up for grabs at the Paralympics Games, but who will be on target and claim gold?

Slovakia's world and European champion Veronika Vadovicova. © • IPC


By Jake Smith | For the IPC

The world’s best R2 (women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1) competitors will battle it out for the first medals of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The opening day of competition at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Gameswill see a total of 42 shooters in action across two events at the Olympic Shooting Centre in Deodoro.

World record holder and reigning Paralympic champion Cuiping Zhangand European and world champion Veronika Vadovicova are likely to be the frontrunners for Rio’s first gold medal. Vadovicova is aiming to reclaim the title she won at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Germany’s Manuela Schmermund, who won gold in Athens, is also a contender – but she has been bridesmaid to both Vadovicova and Zhang at the previous two Paralympic Games.

Natalie Smith won Australia’s only shooting medal four years ago in London with a bronze in R2 and will return to the Paralympic arena in pursuit of a new prized possession.

The men will then take to the firing line for R1 (men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1), which features defending champion Dong Chao and 17-time Paralympic gold medallist Jonas Jacobsson.

Two other key contenders are finals world record holder Abdulla Sultan Alaryani from the UAE and Ukraine’s Andrii Doroshenko, who was the bronze medallist at the Suhl 2014 world championships.

Alaryani and Doroshenko have both been in terrific form this year each with an R1 world cup title to their name.

Alaryani will compete in four events in Rio and will be hoping to get his campaign off to the perfect start.

Doroshenko is among a wave of young Ukrainian shooters who have made their mark on the sport in recent years, and he’ll be hoping to land a gold medal just one day after his birthday.

Slovenian Franc Pinter is more than twice Doroshenko’s age and will draw on his experience as he bids to shoot his way to a fifth Paralympic medal. Pinter is currently ranked No. 3 in the world and is no stranger to the R1 podium with three silver medals and one bronze.

Only the top eight athletes from each event will advance from the qualification stages through to the finals.

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl

Source - https://www.paralympic.org/news/day-one-preview-shooting