ISSF World Cup Baku 2024: China strikes gold & bronze in men's 10m air pistol

Xie Yu wins men’s 10m air pistol gold, Zhang Bowen takes bronze.

China’s Xie Yu, whose Paris 2024 place was confirmed after the recent national trials, made the ideal statement of intent today by winning 10m air pistol gold at the ISSF World Cup Baku 2024.

The 23-year-old, who won world gold in the 50m pistol on the same Olympic Shooting Range last year, will compete in the 10m air pistol in Paris along with world champion Zhang Bowen, who earned bronze in the Azerbaijan capital.

China also featured on the podium in the 10m air pistol women’s event, where world champion Jiang Ranxin, who won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Games and has secured her place for Paris 2024 along with 2023 World Cup Final winner Li Xue, finished third – one place ahead of Li.

Gold went to France’s Camille Jedrzejewski, who won an Olympic quota place for the prospective Olympic hosts at last year’s European Championships.

The 22-year-old, who won World Cup gold in Rio in 2022, finished on 243.0, two points ahead of South Korea’s Kim Yeji.

Xie had already featured on the Baku medal podium having taken bronze along with Li in the previous day’s 10m air pistol mixed team event.

He dominated the men’s final, leading from the second competition stage and finishing with 243.1 points, with Germany’s 24-year-old 2023 World Cup Final champion Robin Walter taking silver on 238.7.

South Korea’s Lee Wonho missed the podium by one place, with Uzbekistan’s Mukhammad Kamalov, 21, finishing fifth, one place ahead of Britain’s James Miller.

Turkey’s 51-year-old four-times Olympian Yusuf Dikec, who had topped the 78 qualifiers ahead of Walter, was seventh, and world bronze medallist Kiril Kirov of Bulgaria eighth.

Jedrzejewski, who took World Cup silver in Baku two years ago, had secured the fifth of the eight qualifying places for the women’s final, with Austria’s 41-year-old Tokyo 2020 Olympian Sylvia Steiner topping the list ahead of China’s Li and Jiang.

The French athlete’s delight in her victory was obvious as she punched the air with both fists and grinned at her jubilant supporters – and when she wiped away tears on the podium.  It was an ideal encouragement ahead of her home Olympics.

Despite her qualifying showing, Steiner could only finish sixth in the final, one place behind Korea’s 25m pistol world record holder Yang Jiin.

Seventh place went to Hong Kong’s Ho Ching Shing, with Serbia’s 10m air pistol world record holder Zorana Arunovic finishing eighth.

The World Cup runs until Saturday, May 11 when there will be concluding finals in the 25m rapid fire pistol men and the women’s and men’s 50m rifle 3 positions finals.

All finals are being live-streamed on the ISSF YouTube and Facebook channels.

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