Cheongju 2018: Rifle preview – part 2

These shooters are aiming for gold in R4, R5 and R6 events 29 Apr 2018
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a male Para shooter

Double Paralympic champion Vasyl Kovalchuk has had a successful start to 2018

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By IPC

The 2018 World Shooting Para Sport Championships will see 13 individual medal events, including nine rifle disciplines.

As competition gets underway on 4 May in Cheongju, South Korea, here are the shooters to keep an eye on in the R4 (mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2), R5 (mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2) and R6 (mixed 50m air rifle prone SH1):

R4 (mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2)

Slovenian Rio 2016 Paralympic champion Veselka Pevec unfortunately had to drop out of the competition due to illness. The floor is now open for her compatriot and Rio 2016 runner-up Gorazd Francek Tirsek. South Korea’s Paralympic bronze medallist Geunsoo Kim could power to the podium with the backing of his home crowd. But Sweden’s Philip Jonsson and Ukraine’s Vasyl Kovalchuk went one and three respectively at the World Cup in March in Al Ain, UAE, and are strong medal contenders.

R5 (mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2)

All four from the R4 discipline are also strong podium finishers in the R5. However, reigning Paralympic champion Kovalchuk appears to perform best in the prone position, and this would be his event to lose. The USA’s McKenna Dahl could add to her historic finish from Rio, where she became the first US shooter to win a Paralympic medal in the sport.

R6 (mixed 50m air rifle prone SH1)

The UAE’s Abdulla Sultan Alaryani has been a consistent R6 medallist on the World Cup circuit, and he is expected to battle for gold in Cheongju. China’s Cuiping Zhang took down Alaryani for the top spot in Rio, and the R6 elimination round could feature a Rio rematch. Do not count out Great Britain’s Matt Skelhon. The British shooter is determined to make up for his 2016 disappointment, and his silver from Al Ain showed his intent to reach the top three.

R (4-6) schedule:

R4 finals – Saturday, 5 May

R6 finals – Monday, 7 May

R5 finals – Wednesday, 9 May

All 13 individual finals will be streamed live on Paralympic.org. More information on Cheongju 2018 can be found on the event website.