Shooting

HÀ NỘI — Olympian Hoàng Xuân Vinh will take part in the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup’s men’s 50m pistol event in Germany today.

Vinh’s best result was a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics last August.

He scored 191.3 points in 20 shots, ranking second behind South Korean Jin Jong-oh who also takes part in today event in Munich.

Jin is No 1 seed here while Vinh is No 2.

Among 105 shooters, there is another Vietnamese Trần Quốc Cường who hopes to win his first ever World Cup medal.

Other title favourites are Rai Jitu of India who is the world No 3 and Chinese Pang Wei, No 5, who pocketed a bronze at Rio event.

Vinh, Cường and three other teammates are going to participate in the 10m air pistol class on May 22.

They will face strong rivals, such as Indian World Cup winner Matsuda Tomoyuki of Japan, Olympic bronze medalist Jitu and Olympic silver medal holder Felipe Almeida Wu of Brazil.

Vinh, Wu, Jitu and Tomoyuki are No 1, No 2, No 4 and No 5, respectively, in the current world ranking. At the World Cup in India, Vinh won a silver medal in the 10m air pistol, behind Tomoyuki.

Army Colonel Vinh’s latest result was a gold at the 41st Southeast Asia Shooting Championship in Malaysia earlier this month. Cường finished at No 8.

Head coach Nguyễn Thị Nhung said the training board hasn’t set any targets for Vinh but with his skills and experience, Vinh can earn high results at the event.

Also kicking off today is the women’s 25m pistol pitting Vietnamese Lê Thị Linh Chi and Đặng Lê Ngọc Mai against 84 rivals, including world No 1 Anna Korakaki of Greece, No 2 Monika Karsch of Germany and No 4 Heidi Dielthelm Gerber of Switzerland. The Vietnamese duo will also compete in the 10m air pistol category.

Nguyễn Duy Hoàng also tests his skills today in the men’s 10m air rifle before he shoots in the 50m rifle three position and 50m rifle prone in the next few days.

Phan Xuân Chuyên, Phan Công Minh and Hà Minh Thành will compete in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol.

The annual World Cup, which draws more than 750 marksmen in 20 disciplines, will run until May 22.

After Germany, Việt Nam will take part in the other World Cup in Azerbaijan in June. — VNS