Changwon 2026 Day 1 Review: Malenovsky, Tommaso shine on thrilling opening day

The Changwon 2026 World Shooting Para Sport Championships got off to an incredible start with thrilling contests, new world records and LA28 qualification quotas secured on Wednesday.

Overall, eight Paralympic quotas were claimed by seven nations as four finals were contested on the opening day of the Championships in Changwon, the third WSPS World Championships to take place in Korea.

Record-breaking show

Slovakian star Radoslav Malenovsky displayed remarkable composure and precision to improve his own world record by just 0.2 points en route to clinching the R1 - 10m air rifle standing men SH1 gold.

The first final of the day at the Changwon International Shooting Range lived up to expectations, delivering plenty of thrills, nerves and emotion.

The Paris 2024 silver medallist in R3 - mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1 stayed in second place for much of the final before signing off in style. Leading the field by 0.3 points, Hungary’s youngster Csaba Rescsik shot 10.1 and then 9.9 in the final series to break Malenovsky’s world record with 251.1.

Malenovsky, on the other hand, produced a brilliant final series of 10.7 and 10.3 to snatch the world record and gold by 0.1 point (251.2). Home athlete Lee Jangho finished in third place with 228.7.

Reigning Paralympic champion Jinho Park agonisingly missed out on the podium with 207.7.

“The first four of us were really strong and we were changing our places. My shooting was stabilised after a few bad shots and I felt more confident. Csaba was going really strong today and there was no way to catch him, but then he made a mistake and I didn't,” said the 39-year-old Radoslav, who is now a three-time world champion.

“The most precious for me today was I got a quota for LA28. Two years of preparations for LA now, so see you in LA.”

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Surprise results

There were surprise results too on the opening day, with Italian teenager Tommaso Starec clinching his first world title after overcoming an elite field that included Paralympic medallists Paris 2024 champion Francek Gorazd Tirsek and Seo Huntae.

Starec, who set a junior world record at Novi Sad in July, delivered another impressive performance as he equalled the senior world record of multiple-time world champion Tanguy De La Forest from France with 255.5 points. Athens 2004 champion Michael Johnson finished on 254.1 points for second place.

Starec was understandably over the moon.

“It’s really amazing here. I enjoyed shooting in Changwon and I’m so happy about my medal.”

“It’s strange that I’m like little mascot of my team – I think age is just a number,” he said when asked about his success at such a young age.

🔴 LIVE — second final of the day.

R2 Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1. Watch it here 👇https://t.co/qjdEaXansY#ShootingParaSport #Changwon2026 pic.twitter.com/CadVhrK7tz

— Shooting Para Sport (@ShootingPara) September 10, 2026

Breakthrough title

The R2 - 10m air rifle standing women SH1 produced another thrilling finish as Serbia’s 22-year-old Kristina Trifunovic claimed the biggest win of her career by two tenths, shooting 250.2.

Trifunovic stayed focused and composed until the end, producing a series of 10s to prevail over India's Paris 2024 champion Avani Lekhara and bronze medallist Mona Agarwal on her way to the title.

Agarwal, who also had an impressive campaign with several 10s, settled for second place with 250.0, ahead of Lekhara.

“It may be a bit strange but I competed in the usual way like I used to play in the national competition. I’m just so excited and happy,” said Trifunovic.

In the only pistol event of the day, it was a Chinese one-two, with Paris 2024 champion Yang Chao further strengthening his stature by clinching gold with 24 points, while Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 champion Xing Huang finished one point behind to take silver in P3 mixed 25m pistol SH1.

You can relive the action from Changwon by watching the livestream, while results are available here.

Competition at Changwon 2026 continues with three finals on Friday.