Two Chinese marksmen grab Rio Olympic berths in Azerbaijan

In the men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, Hu Haozhe and Lao Jiajie dominated the game with a 1-2 finish and qualification for Rio 2016. Both are Olympic debutants.

Hu (27) and Lao (25) were tied in first until the final shot. Then, a perfect 5-hit round gave Hu his first World Cup gold (final score: 32 hits).

"I thank the ISSF, and the Azerbaijani (Organizing) Committee for such a good competition for the athletes," Hu told the media here.

Lao, the silver medalist, scored 30 hits and stepped for the first time onto a World Cup podium.

France's Boris Artaud (25) won the bronze, his first World Cup medal, scoring 25 hits. South Korean Kim Jun Hong came in fourth with 20 hits. The fifth spot saw India's Gurpreet Singh (27), who scored 14 hits.

The International Sport Shooting Federation (ISSF) World Cup final kicked off in Azerbaijan's northern region of Gabala on Aug. 7 bringing together nearly 2,000 athletes from 100 countries and regions to compete in the rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooting disciplines. Some 34 of the winning athletes will qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio. The tournament will end on Aug. 16.

 

(Xinhua)