Changwon, Korea: India’s Prakash Nanjappa with 180.2 points won the bronze in 10m Air Rifle Men event on the third day of competitions at the 2013 ISSF World Cup in Changwon, Korea here on Saturday. He outdid the 2010 World Champion Tomoyuki Matsuda of Japan, who came in fourth with 158.7 points.
Nanjappa, 37, also finished in the spotlights two days ago, when he was ranked eighth at the 50m Pistol Men final.
Meanwhile, 2012 Asian Champion Xuan Vinh Hoang of Vietnam won the event, defeating China’s Wang Zhiwei.
Xuan Vinh Hoang made it to the final with 583 points, starting the match in second place. But with the new ISSF rules, the qualification score does not count anymore in the final. Qualification scores are indeed not taken forward into the medal match: all the finalists start from zero. The new final match starts off with two series of three shots. Then, the final proceed with single shots. Starting from the eighth shot, and then after every two shots, the athlete with the lowest score is eliminated, until the medals are decided. The Final match ends up with two shooters on the line, duelling for the Gold on the last two shots.
The 38-year old Vietnamese shooter climbed up the final’s scoreboard, shooting neck and neck against China’s Wang Zhiwei, the 2012 Olympic Bronze medallist. The two contenders fought right to the last shot, when it was Xuan Vinh Hoang to secure the Gold, with a total score of 200.8 points to Wang Zhiwei’s 200.1 points.
Courtsey: ISSF
