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Kovalchuk victorious at season opening World Cup
Ukrainian Vasyl Kovalchuk just edges Finland’s world champion Minna Leinonen in the final competition of the 2015 IPC Shooting World Cup in Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain. 01 Apr 2015
An incredibly close final saw Ukraine's Vasyl Kovalchuk take victory in R5 over the reigning world champion, Finland's Minna Leinonen at the 2015 IPC Shooting World Cup Stoke Mandeville.
Leinonen (211.3) took an early lead before Kovalchuk hit back in the second round. The pair then drew level in the third before Kovalchuk began a gradual move ahead, beginning with a 10.9 to take him 0.6 clear heading into the final shots.
Ukraine’s Vasyl Kovalchuk secured victory over Finnish world champion Minna Leinonen on Wednesday (1 April), in a nail-biting conclusion to the 2015 IPC Shooting World Cup in Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain.
Kovalchuk won R5 (mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2) gold after the elimination rounds showed just how closely matched the field is in the year before Rio 2016.
Leinonen (211.3) took an early lead before Kovalchuk hit back in the second round. The pair then drew level in the third before Kovalchuk began a gradual move ahead, beginning with a 10.9 to take him 0.6 clear heading into the final shots.
The Fin moved to close the gap in the penultimate round, herself scoring a 10.9 to bring her within 0.3 of the leader. Despite Leinonen equalling Kovalchuk’s final round score, it was not enough and he took the win with 211.6.
The Netherlands’ Joep van Lankveld completed the top three for his first ever podium at an IPC Shooting competition.
Over in the pistol events, Great Britain’s Stewart Nangle won the P1 (men’s 10m air pistol SH1) crown, improving on his bronze medal on his debut from 2014 and adding a ninth medal to his country’s haul for the competition.
After a closely fought battle with Azerbaijani silver medallist Kamran Zeynalov (191.4) in the opening rounds, Nangle turned the tables with a 10.9 in the third elimination round to take the lead.
A series of 10.6’s followed from Nangle as Zeynalov tried to keep the pressure on, beating the Brit in the fifth round. But Nangle managed to hold on, securing a final score of 193.4.
The silver for Zeylanov is the third podium for Azerbaijan as Andriy Zakhvatayev (169.4) picked up Ukraine’s seventh medal in bronze.
Full results from the competition, provided by IPC Shooting’s Official Target Systems and Results Supplier Sius, can be found at IPC Shooting’s website.
The next stop on the World Cup circuit is Szczecin, Poland, from 17-21 April and then onto Antalya, Turkey from 12-15 May.
The first in a series of three qualifiers for Rio 2016 take place in Osijek, Croatia, on 10-14 July.
