Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan’s northern region Gabala is continuing to host the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun.

The 5th competition day announced its winners on August 12.

In the men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, 27 year-old Chinese Hu Haozhe won gold medal with 32 hits, winning ticket for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

"I thank the ISSF, and the Azerbaijani [Organizing] Committee," Hu says, "for [preparing] such a good competition for the athletes."

In his last three rounds, Hu didn't miss a single shot--he scored 15 out of 15 hits. He did it, he says, by playing the way he knows.

"I was just doing my thing," says Hu. "I think less, and do more."

Another Chinese athlete, 25 year-old Lao Jiajie took silver medal and also gained Olympic quota places for Rio 2016.

Bronze medal went to Boris Artaud (25) of France, scoring 25 hits. It is his career's first World Cup medal.

Russia's shooter Kirilll Grigoryan (23) claimed the men's 50m Rifle Prone gold medal: “I feel really great because this is my first final and my first medal in a world cup stage, it couldn't end up in a better way.”

Matthew Emmons of the U.S. earned silver medal, while Tomas Jerabek of the Czech Republic placed third.

ISSF World Cup, which is bringing together best athletes to compete in the rifle, pistol, and shotgun shooting disciplines is organized by the National Olympic Committee, Youth and Sports Ministry, Gabala Shooting Club, and the Azerbaijani Shooting Federation.

Some 34 of the winning athletes will qualify to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio.

This is the sixth stage of the competition. The previous five qualifying stages of the World Cup were held in the USA, Germany, UAE, Cyprus, and Mexico throughout the year.

The competition, which includes 17 types of shooting sports will last until August 16.

Azerbaijan is being represented by 27 athletes at the event, including Emil Jafarov, Nurlana Jafarova, Pasha Ahadpur, Niyaz Agazade, and others.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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