WUHAN, Central China, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Forget
national shooting team members Guo Wenjun and Wang Dehui.
The shooting competition of the 6th Chinese City
Games was still reigned by fledgling athletes, although their scores were not so
satisfactory.
In the women's 10-meter air
rifle event, 23-year-old Yang Jing representing Yinchuan of northwest China's
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region edged out world gold medallist Zhang Yi to mount
the champion platform with 502.6 points.
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Yang Jing of Yinchuan competes in the
women's shooting 10m air rifle at the 6th Chinese City Games in Wuhan,
capital of central China's Hubei Province, Oct. 29, 2007. Yang Jing won
the gold medal with 502.6 points. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
Marching into the final with 399 points, the girl
from Hui ethnic minority appeared relaxed, who stepped into the shooting range
waving to the audiences.
She surpassed Zhang, No.1 of the qualification round
with a record-equaling 400 points, by scoring eight of the ten shots above ten
points.
Zhang with her marks fluctuating seriously in the
final ended up third with 500.8 points, while the silver medal fell into the
pocket of 19-year-old Xie Jieqiong from Jinan of northeast China's Shandong
Province with 501.3 points.
"Although she (Zhang) is an ace athlete, I didn't
feel afraid at all," Yang beamed. "My only job is to do my best, not caring
about others."
Stopped in the qualification
round at last session of City Games, Zhang Yi appeared disappointed at the
result this time, citing lack of practice as the major cause of her failure.
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Zhang Yi of Qinhuangdao reacts during
the women's shooting 10m air rifle at the 6th Chinese City Games in Wuhan,
capital of central China's Hubei Province, Oct. 29, 2007. Zhang won the
bronze medal with 500.8 points in the finals on Monday. (Xinhua
Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
"I was just back from the World Cup Final earlier
this October," she said. "And I practiced for just several hours."
Wang Yifu, head coach of the
national shooting team, was dissatisfied with their performances. "Their scores
in the final are too low," he said.
Results of the top three in the final were 103.6,
102.3 and 100.8 points.
"Du Li would do much better," Wang said.
The Athens Olympics gold medallist Du holds the world
record of the discipline with 504.9 points.
Performances in the range of 25-meter pistol were
even worse.
Yu Lu, 20-year-old newcomer from Nanchang of east
China's Jiangxi Province, grabbed the gold medal of women's 25-meter pistol at
the 6th Chinese City Games here on Monday with 786.2 points, 10.5 points less
than the World Record set by Bulgarian markswoman Maria Grozdeva with 796.7
points in World Cup Fort Chang won in April 2005.
The silver and bronze were captured by 20-year-old
Yuan Jing from Nanjing of Jiangsu and 19-year-old Zhang Jingjing from Fuzhou of
Fujian with 782.9 and 782.4 points.
Li Meng, second-placer in the qualification round,
got a fat zero in the first of the four sets in the final by forgetting to load
her pistol and plunged to the last, which made a fuss.
Guo Wenjun, runner-up in the women's 25-meter pistol
at the World Cup Finals this year, made a bigger one by finishing as only the
fifth.
Edged into the final as the last with 577 points, the
ace shooter doesn't seem to be in good status.
Another athlete with the national shooting squad Wang
Dehui stopped in the qualification round.
"Maybe the sudden change of weather hampered their
performances," said Wang Yifu.
A powerhouse in shooting events, China pinned hope to
the disciplines to fuel its gold spree in the upcoming Olympics.
Zhang Yi and Guo Wenjun were ranked fourth and third
in the 10-meter air rifle and 25-meter pistol. They will go through selecting
matches next March for tickets to the 2008 Olympic arena.
