China, South Korea share glory at shooting meet
China, South Korea share glory at shooting meet
JAKARTA (JP): China continued its gold medal winning streak on
the penultimate day of the eighth Asian Shooting Championships
here yesterday, but it had to share the glory with South Korea.
Only two golds from the Men's Small Bore Free Rifle Three
Positions were up for grabs yesterday, with South Korea upsetting
the Chinese in the team event in a record-breaking run.
The South Korean trio of Lee Eun-chul, Cha Young-chul and Bae
Sung-duk scored a combined total of 3,461 to improve on the old
mark by three points. It was the sixth new Asian records
established in the championship, including a world-equaling mark
set by Zhang Bing of China in the men's trap on Wednesday.
China finished 21 points behind the Koreans for the silver.
The bronze went to first-timer Kazakhstan.
China took sweet revenge in the individual event when Ning
Lijia shot down South Korean Asian Games gold medalist Lee Eun-
chul. Both Ning and Lee shared the lead in the qualifying round
with 1,159 points each, but the Chinese maintained his composure
to triumph in the Final Eight round.
Ning, who always shot at the last second, left a nervous Lee
trailing throughout the final showdown. The Chinese took a 2.8-
point lead over Lee when they completed the 10 compulsory shots.
Ning totaled 1256.6 points to win the gold, with the South Korean
taking the silver.
Alexander Melsitov of Kazakhstan grabbed the bronze after
beating another South Korean, Cha Young-chul, during the shoot-
off.
"Qualifying for the Olympic Games is more important than just
winning the gold medal here," Ning said afterwards. "But the way
I strolled to victory did not surprise me."
The 30-year-old Physical Education College student from Hobei
scored his personal best of 1,171 to break the national record
during a local competition in August.
"I had earlier expected Ning to win his favorite event. He is
on his way to reaching the highest level," said Chinese rifle
coach, Xiong Haipeng. Ning won the Asian Games air rifle last
year.
Strong wind
Xiong, however, complained about the strong wind at the
Senayan shooting range. "My shooter could have performed better
if the wind hadn't adversely affect his concentration," he said.
The victory gave Ning another berth for the Atlanta Olympics
next year. He also won Olympic places in the Small Bore Rifle
Prone and Air Rifle competitions.
"It is going to be extremely tough to beat European and
American rivals in Atlanta, but I still have a chance," was
Ning's prediction for the Olympic shooting competition. "European
and American shooters have a better standard of between 1,174 and
1,180," coach Xiong added.
As of yesterday, four Chinese shooters had qualified for the
Olympics, in addition to another 19 who had assured themselves of
berths in previous tournaments. The shooting meet here serves as
the last qualifying round for the 1996 Olympics.
The additional gold from Ning confirmed China's domination at
the championship, the second meet held here after 1983. The
defending overall title has reaped 20 golds, 12 silvers and six
bronzes. South Korea came away with five golds, four silvers and
eight bronzes.
The closing day of the championship today will offer eight
gold medals, opening up a fierce battle for the runner-up title.
(amd)
Medals tally
1. China 20 11 6
2. South Korea 5 4 8
3. Japan 2 4 6
4. Kazakhstan 1 2 4
5. Mongolia 1 2 0
6. India 1 1 2
7. Kyrgyztan 0 2 0
8. Uzbekistan 0 1 0
Thailand 0 1 0
10. Indonesia 0 0 1
Vietnam 0 0 1
Chinese Taipei 0 0 1
Iran 0 0 1
Iraq 0 0 1