The Hindu : Sport : Chinese shooters could dominate

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Chinese shooters could dominate

— Photo: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

GUNNING FOR GOLD: Australia’s Michael Diamond will be looking for his third Olympic gold in Beijing.

MUNICH: The Chinese marksmen are all set to gun down competition and bag plenty of shooting gold medals at the 2008 Olympics. The Games host has an excellent chance of improving on its four golds in Athens — more than any other nation. And the nine overall medals was just one less than leader Russia.

China could collect its first gold of the 2008 Olympics at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall as the women’s 10-metre air rifle final takes place on the first morning of the Games. Reigning world and Olympic champion Du Li is the clear favourite.

Another shooting gold may follow just hours later for the host with the afternoon final of the men’s 10m air pistol, where China’s Pang Wei is the reigning world champion.

Chances aplenty

Even if Du and Pang turn up empty, there are plenty of opportunities for the local spectators to celebrate as defending 10m air rifle champion Zhu Qinan and silver medallist Li Jie are both back.

Zhang Penghui and Liu Zhongsheng took the 25m rapid fire pistol gold and silver in the 2006 World championship but German veteran Ralf Schumann is looking to defend his 2004 title and add a Beijing crown to his 1992 and 1996 golds, and 1988 silver.

China’s Tan Zongliang is the reigning world champion in 50m pistol, but Russian defending Olympic champion Mikhail Nestruev will be out to improve on his 20th-place showing at the 2006 World championship.

In women’s 25m pistol, Chinese Chen Ying and Fei Fengj finished 1-2 at the 2006 World championsip and two-time defending Olympic champion Maria Grozdeva slumped to 16th at the same event.

Intriguing battle

The men’s double trap promises to be an intriguing showdown as Sheikh Ahmed al Maktoum has decided to come back and defend his gold medal — the first ever for the United Arab Emirates. India’s Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore struggled at the 2006 and 2007 World championship but took silver in Athens.

The 1996 gold medallist and 2000 silver winner Mark Russell is also back for more medals; so is Sydney champion Richard Faulds of Great Britain. Not to mention the 2006 world champion Vitaly Fokeev of Russia and the reigning world champion Francesco D’Aniello of Italy.

The men’s skeet event will also be a major battle as the last three Olympic champions — 1996 winner Ennio Falco of Italy, Sydney champion Mykola Milchev of Ukraine and Italy’s 2004 winner Andrea Benelli — are all hunting for a second gold.

Going for third gold

In men’s trap, Australian Michael Diamond goes for his third Olympic title in his fifth Games. After winning in Atlanta and Sydney, Diamond dropped to eighth in Athens. The 36-year-old slipped to 35th at the 2006 World meet but rebounded to take the 2007 World title while also setting the world record.

Fellow Australian Suzanne Balough hopes to clinch her second straight Olympic trap gold after struggling to 50th at the 2006 event but improving to fourth in last year’s World championship which was won by China’s Liu Yingzi.

In women’s skeet, defending champion and 2000 bronze medallist Diana Igaly of Hungary is back and so are Sydney champion and Athens bronze winner Zemfira Meftakhetdinova of Azerbaijan.

Russian Svetlana Demina would like to improve on her 2000 silver medal while 2004 runner-up Wei Ning of China also hopes to jump up one step higher on the podium. — DPA

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