Xuan Vinh returns with top form after Olympic success

Vietnam’s No. 1 marksman Hoang Xuan Vinh went on to satisfy his home fans by winning a silver medal in the men’s 10m air pistol event at the ongoing ISSF World Cup in New Delhi, India.

Vietnam's Olympic champion Hoang Xuan Vinh.

Vinh proved his superiority as an Olympic champion by overwhelming 34 opponents in the preliminary round on the morning of February 28 with six shots earning a total of 581 points (97, 98, 97, 96, 97 and 96 points respectively).

In the final round later the same day, Vinh made it through to the last three medal competitors, alongside Tomoyuki Matsuda (Japan) and Jitu Rai (India).

The Vietnamese shooter went on to beat Jitu Rai to vie for the gold medal with Matsuda; however, he failed to create a miracle, only scoring 9.5 and 9.8 points compared to 10.2 and 10.6 points by the Japanese athlete.

In total, Vinh walked away with the silver medal with 236.6 points, while Matsuda took gold and broke the world record with 240.1 points.

The New Delhi World Cup, which will last until March 1, is the first stage of the 2017 ISSF World Cup Series.

Vietnam is being represented by six athletes at the tournament, including Olympic champion Hoang Xuan Vinh, Tran Quoc Cuong, Ha Minh Thanh, Nguyen Huy Hoang, Le Thi Hoang Ngoc and Pham Thi Ha.

Vietnamese athletes are competing for medals in eight events, namely the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol, 10m air rifle, 50m rifle 3 positions, 10m air pistol, 50m slow fire pistol and 50m rifle prone categories and the women’s 10m air pistol and 25m sport pistol disciplines.

(Source: NDO)