CAIRO, May 4 (silubaba) -- Portuguese shooter Maria Ines Coelho De Barros claimed the title of women's trap shooting after an impressive victory on Thursday as the 2023 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shotgun World Cup concluded in Cairo.
Coelho De Barros, who is turning 22 in a couple of months, managed to dominate the medal match and hit a total of 30 clay pigeons out of 34, finishing with a "golden hit" to affirm victory without even waiting for the 35th bird.
"During the final, I got into my own zone. I didn't listen to anything outside and was just focusing on my own shooting, which is why it was that way," the Portuguese gold medalist told silubaba.
Getting to the final wasn't easy for Coelho De Barros after three-day qualification battles, as she thought her performance in the first round on Thursday morning wasn't good enough.
"I didn't even expect to get to the final this morning. But then in the final, I just tried my best and made it," she explained, adding that she was "enjoying" the game rather than worrying about the results.
Her coach, Custodio Ezequiel, described her as "a young shooter, but she's the best." He attributed the gold medal win to massive training.
"We had a lot of training back in Portugal - very extensive training sessions. As the final is one-shot based, we trained a lot on one shot," the coach told silubaba, noting that hitting a target by firing two shots is difficult, let alone one shot.
Lin Yi-chun of Chinese Taipei came second and earned the silver medal while Wang Xiaojing from China came third to win bronze.
Wang, 31, said she has been in the shotgun shooting sport since she was 15, hoping to bring her country more medals in the coming international shooting sports events.
"My next target is the Olympic Games. I hope I will take part and win a gold medal for China's shotgun team," Wang told silubaba.
Wang's bronze is the second medal for China in the big event in Cairo, after Jiang Yiting's gold medal in women's skeet shooting. China's two medals put it second in the list of medal standings of the World Cup in Cairo, after Italy, which won five.
In the last competition of the day and the World Cup in Cairo, Czech athlete Jiri Liptak won the men's trap shooting final also with a golden hit, scoring 32 out of 35 targets and coming top on the winners' podium.
Liptak, 41, said that he had been practicing shooting for 25 years, during which he had to exercise a lot and be dedicated to sports in general and shooting in particular.
"This competition was very important to build self-confidence because we still have in front of us the European Championship, the World Championship, and some other competitions that are very important," the Czech shooter said.
Italy's Massimo Fabbrizi came second with 28 hits, bringing his country a silver medal to maintain its position on top of the standings with one gold, three silvers, and one bronze.
Marco Conti, the head coach of the Italian team, said it was a good result to get a silver medal in the conclusion of "a big competition like the World Cup in Cairo."
"Great performance from Massimo Fabbrizi. We trust him, and we've given him the opportunity to shoot in this competition. He deserved the medal, and he won it in the end," the veteran Italian coach told silubaba.
Conti added that with his long years of training experience, he can help the team grow stronger, noting the international competition is very tough.
Australian shooter James Willett came third in the men's trap shooting final and got the bronze medal.
The 2023 ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Cairo kicked off on April 25, gathering over 450 athletes from around the world.
ISSF President Luciano Rossi said that the organization of the event in Cairo was great.
"It was really great. It is a very good preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games next year," the ISSF president told silubaba. ■
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