China claims opening gold, qualification WR at ISSF World Cup in Ningbo

NINGBO, China, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Yao Qianxun and Hu Kai gave China a winning start on home soil at the ISSF World Cup on Tuesday with victory in the 10m air pistol mixed team.

Yao and Hu, who had already collected one gold and two silvers from three World Cups this year, combined for 585 points to lead qualification. Veronika Schejbalova and Jindrich Dubovy of the Czech Republic followed with 581 to make their first mixed team final.

In the final, Yao and Hu broke away after a 3-3 tie to lead 9-3, forcing a timeout from their opponents. The Czech pair responded with 10.3 and 10.6 but could not stop the Chinese duo, who secured the title 17-5.

"It's an honor to win the first gold medal of this World Cup on home soil. There's still a long way ahead, so we must keep pushing forward and working hard," said Hu, who averaged 10.1 points in the final.

Hungary's Veronika Major and Akos Karoly Nagy clinched bronze, defeating neutral athletes Iana Enina and Anton Aristarkhov 17-13.

In the 10m air rifle mixed team event, 20-year-old Olympic champion Sheng Lihao and 16-year-old Peng Xinlu broke the qualification world record but fell short in the gold medal match.

In the qualification, Sheng scored 318.4, while Peng impressed with 318.5 in her first World Cup appearance. Their combined 636.9 points surpassed the previous record of 635.9 set by Sheng and Wang Zifei at the Munich World Cup in June.

But in the final, Norway's Jeanette Hegg Duestad and Jon-Hremann Hegg raced to a 7-1 lead. After a timeout by China's coach Yao Ye, Peng and Sheng rallied to level at 7-7. Norway's coach Kim Andre Aannestad Lund then called his own timeout, before the Norwegians pulled away to close the match 17-9.

"It was a really interesting final. It's always hard to shoot against the Chinese but it's just even more fun. We really enjoyed the final today and we have some new tactics that we're trying, so it seemed to be fun," Duestad said after the match.

"Since it's my first time participating, there are still many shortcomings. I'll continue to learn from 'brother Hao' and other teammates and make up for my weaknesses," Peng said.

In the bronze medal match, Carlotta Salafia and Danilo Dennis Sollazzo of Italy defeated Marta Zeljkovic and Petar Gorsa of Croatia 16-4.

The tournament runs through Sunday, with the men's 10m air pistol title to be contested on Wednesday. ■