Shooting World Cup season opener to get underway

There is US interest in the pistol events, as the team continue on their upward trajectory in the world of para-sport shooting.

Around 80 shooters from over 20 countries will gather once again at the birthplace of the Paralympic Movement in Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain, from Monday (30 March) for the very first IPC Shooting World Cup of 2015.

The competition kicks off the final season ahead of Rio 2016, which will also feature three Paralympic Games qualifiers in Croatia, Australia and the USA.

After winning his first world title in R6 (mixed 50m rifle prone SH1) at the 2014 IPC Shooting World Championships in Suhl, Germany, Great Britain’s Matt Skelhon is returning to action in the R3 event (mixed 10m air rifle prone SH1), preparation for sealing the “holy grail” of European, world and Paralympic titles in 2016. Skelhon also won gold at the Euros in Alicante, Spain, in 2013.

Heading out against Skelhon in R3 will be Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova, who will also be fighting her own battle in R2 (women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1) hoping to continue her form after winning the world title in 2014.

Another Brit, Deanna Coates, won R2 silver in Alicante and will also be in Stoke Mandeville.

Finish world champion Minna Leinonen, the R5 (mixed 10m air rifle prone SH2) world champion, faces a deep field in the competition that includes British top 10 world rankings finishers James Bevis and Tim Jeffrey.

French Suhl 2014 bronze medallist Tanguy de la Forest and 2014 World No.1 Richard Davies will go head-to-head in the R4 (mixed 10m air rifle standing SH2), amongst a group that also includes Ukrainian European champion Vasyl Kovalchuk.

Rounding off the rifle competitions is R1 (men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1) that will feature the UAE’s Paralympic champion Abdullah Sultan Alaryani.

There is US interest in the pistol events, as the team continue on their upward trajectory in the world of para-sport shooting.

Michael Tagliapetra finished as World No. 2 in P3 (mixed 25m pistol SH1) in 2014 having finished fifth in Suhl. He will compete against World No.3 Azerbaijan’s Kamran Zeynalov in P1 (men’s 10m air pistol SH1), who is the highest ranking shooter in the event to travel to Stoke Mandeville.

Azerbaijan’s European champion Yelena Taranova leads out the P2 (women’s 10m air pistol SH1) competitors.

Competition runs in Stoke Mandeville until Wednesday (1 April). Live results, provided by IPC Shooting’s Official Results and Target Systems Provider Sius, will be available every day.

Live updates will also be posted to IPC Shooting’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Paralympic qualifiers will be held in Osijek, Croatia, in July, Sydney, Australia, in September and Fort Benning, USA, in November.