Lima 2023: First gold for Azerbaijan and Israel

Azerbaijan’s Kamran Zeynalov went beyond his expectations to win the P4 – mixed 50m pistol SH1 at the Lima 2023 World Para Sport Shooting Championships on Sunday (24 September).

The 31-year-old had gone into the competition hoping to add another silver to the one he secured a day earlier in the P6 – mixed team 10m air pistol SH1 with his compatriot Aybaniz Babayeva.

But after a tense shoot out in the final against India’s teenage sensation Rudransh Khandelwal, he upgraded to gold at the Las Palmas Air Base.

“It is a great feeling to have won,” said Zeynalov. “Before the [P4] event my aim was to be second, so to come first, I am so happy and so proud to win for Azerbaijan.” 

Zeynalov’s victory was among the highlights of the third day, which included Israel’s first gold of the Championships and two more wins for France.

The Azerbaijan athlete had been in second place behind South Korea’s Jungnam Kim after the first of two series of five shots – he scored 45.3 to Kim’s 46.1. 

But after 12 shots, and consistently high scores, he was 2.8 points up on South Korea’s Jeongdu Jo, who had overtaken his compatriot in the silver medal position. Two days earlier the South Korean teammates had won silver in the P3 – mixed team 25m pistol SH1.

Zeylanov continued to pull away in the elimination rounds to close out the competition on 220.5. The battle was on for silver and bronze.

There were cheers from a large group of Indian athletes in the arena when their 16-year-old teammate, Khandelwal, put in an outstanding performance to move from the danger zone to overtake Jo and Kim to finish in second place on 216.4. 

The high school student has had a meteoric rise in shooting since he began competing internationally just a year ago. In May, he took gold at the Osijek 2023 WSPS World Cup in the P4 - mixed 50m pistol SH1.

“I have only started competing internationally in the last year, so to win silver at a World Championships is great,” said Khandelwal, who is one of 18 athletes competing for India in Lima. It is the biggest team among the 54 nations.

“There will be a big party with my family when I get home to celebrate,” he added. 

As well as medals, both Zeynalov and Khandelwal will also take home quota places for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

The South Koreans slugged it out for bronze, which was won by Jo with 194.4 to Kim’s 177.4.

Special win for Chernoy

Meanwhile, Israel’s Yuliya Chernoy could not contain her delight after winning her first World Championships gold medal in the R3 – mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1.

The 44-year-old right-handed shooter hugged her coach, Guy Starik, after a tense shoot-out with Germany’s reigning Paralympic champion Natascha Hiltrop, who had beaten her into third place in last year’s edition in Al Ain. Chernoy signed off just 0.4 ahead on 253.7.

The victory also followed her disappointment at finishing fourth at the Rotterdam 2023 European Championships in August.

“I was shaking at the end [of the competition],” said Chernoy. “It is so special to win my first World Championships, it is amazing. Just a couple of weeks ago I was at the European Championships, and it didn’t go well, but I learnt from it. I’ve trained every day and worked with my coach. It’s been a team effort.”

Korea’s Jinho Park, who won gold in the R1 – men’s air rifle standing SH1, settled for bronze in 230.9 after fighting off a valiant effort from Ukraine’s Iryna Schehtnik, a reigning European champion, who just missed out on the medals a year ago.

France on top

France laid down a marker for the home Paralympic Games next year in the R5 – mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2. Three of the nation’s top shooters dominated the final, which was won by Pierre Guillaume-Sage.

The 23-year-old reigning European champion, who is a relative newcomer to international competition, held his nerve against Italy’s Gianluca Iacus as they vied for the top spot, to close the third day of competition on 255.5 to 254.9.

His compatriot, Tanguy de la Forest, claimed the bronze to go with the gold he had already won in the R4 – mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2. French athlete, Justine Beve had to settle for fourth.

“I hadn’t expected to win the European Championships in August and now to be the world champion and the best in my category feels very strange, but I feel very proud to win it for France,” said Guillaume-Sage, who also won a quota place for Paris 2024. “The Paralympics [in my country] will be amazing,” he added.

Ukraine’s defending world champion, Vasyl Kovalchuk, was fifth while Serbia’s defending Paralympic champion Dragan Ristic finished eighth.

The three French athletes also won the R5 – mixed team air rifle prone SH2 with silver going to Thailand and Ukraine the bronze.

The two golds and bronze medals in the R5 events meant France overtook South Korea on the leaderboard with six medals, four of them gold. South Korea has 10 medals with three gold.

The Lima 2023 World Championships, which runs until Thursday (28 September), will be livestreamed on the World Shooting Para Sport website and Facebook page. Live results are available here.

You can follow all the action and go behind the scenes on the World Para Shooting Sport social media channels on Instagram and Twitter.