China top of the shots as 27 nations qualify for Rio 2016 Olympic shooting competition
Asian powerhouse claims nine berths as 64 of 390 Olympic places are decided at world championships
China's Yang Haoran was the first athlete to earn a shooting qualification place for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (ISSF)
The first 64 places in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games shooting competition have been decided (as confirmed by ISSF), with 27 nations qualifying via the world championships in Granada, Spain, which ended on Friday (19 September).
China was top of the shots at 51st International Shooting Sport Federation World Championship, winning nine berths for the first Olympic Games in South America. Germany, the Republic of Korea, Italy and Russia each claimed five spots, while France and Slovakia secured three places.
China’s Yang Haoran grabbed the first Rio 2016 shooting place by winning the men’s 10m air rifle event. A gold medallist at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, the 18-year-old won the world title with a 1.9 point advantage over second placed Nazar Louginets of Russia.
“I’m honoured that I claimed the first Olympic quota for my country,” he said. “The world championships is a huge competition. The best shooters of the world are here. I felt the pressure at the beginning of the final, but then I zeroed in and was able to climb up on top.”
The places won in Spain will be allocated to the respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of the athletes. The NOCs will then decide which athletes will represent their countries at Rio 2016.
Jin Jong-Oh, a three-time Olympic champion from the Republic of Korea, also shined in Granada. The 34-year-old won gold medals in the 10m air pistol and 50m pistol, and broke the longest-standing shooting world record, in the 50m pistol, scoring 583 points to overcome the former USSR’s Alexander Melentiev’s 581 points at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.
“Winning the world championships title is a great achievement for me,” said the Korean. “And I am happy to be the first Korean shooter to win a quota place for Rio 2016. The road to Rio is still long. I will have to shoot well in the next two years, to be there.”
He also revealed his pride at breaking the world record, saying: “Every time I shot a match, ever since I started competing, I have been trying to reach that result. It feels awesome.”
Brandy Drozd hopes to claim the Rio 2016 place she earned for the USA by winning the women's skeet world title (Photo: ISSF)
In the women’s skeet event, the USA’s Brandy Drozd won her first world title. “Winning a quota for the US was my goal,” said the 20-year-old from Texas. “My ultimate goal is the Olympic Games and at least I know that my country can go. Hopefully I will make the team for Rio.”
The other nations to win places at Rio 2016 were Australia, Belarus, Spain, USA, Great Britain, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine and Vietnam (two each), Bulgaria, Chinese Taipei, People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Slovenia, Hungary, India, Czech Republic and Turkey.
Another 16 shooting qualifier tournaments, both world and continental, will be held between 2014 and 2016, with a further 302 Olympic places up for grabs. The remaining 24 places will be allocated by invitations made by the International Shooting Federation (ISSF).
See below for the Rio 2016 places obtained at the world championships:
10m air rifle men: Russia (2), China (2), Belarus and France
50m rifle prone men: Australia, Germany, Belarus, Russia and Italy
50m rifle 3 positions men: China, Ukraine, Korean Republic, Norway and Italy
10m air pistol men: Turkey, Russia, China, Vietnam, Slovakia and Bulgaria
25m rapid fire pistol men: Korean Republic and Germany
50m pistol men: Korea Republic, India, China and Vietnam
Trap men: Slovakia, Great Britain and Italy
Double trap men: USA and Italy
Skeet men: Russia, France and Egypt
10m air rifle women: Italy, China (2), Germany, Serbia and Denmark
50m rifle 3 postions women: Germany, Croatia, Norway, China and Czech Republic
10m air pistol women: Korea Republic, Ukraine, Chinese Taipei, Slovenia, Spain and Serbia
25m pistol women: China, Korea Republic, Hungary, Peoples' Democratic Republic of Korea and France
Trap women: Germany, Spain and Australia
Skeet women: USA, Great Britain and Slovakia
Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.
