Tuzun, Smith shoot trap gold at ISSF World Cup Doha
Doha: Turkiye’s Oguzhan Tuzun and Australia’s Penny Smith emerged as the men’s and women trap event winners respectively following a pulsating finals of the ISSF World Cup Shotgun - Doha 2023 at the Lusail Shooting Range on Saturday.
The men’s action saw some solid marksmanship of two rounds (15 and 20 targets) and eight qualified shooters before the elimination brought it down to four and eventually three.
Turkiye’s Tuzun capped it with a total score of 33 successful shots for the gold while Britain’s Matthew John Coward-Holley claimed the silver with 30 hits.
India’s Prithviraj Tondaiman took the bronze with a score of 20. Kuwait’s Naser Meqlad finished fourth (13).
Speaking through his “translator”, Turkiye’s Ambassador to Qatar HE Mehmet Mustafa Goksu, who was also one of the chief guests at the presentation ceremony for the men’s trap, Tuzun said he was very happy at doing his best.
Later, while speaking to the media, the 40-year-old champion said, “It has been lovely being in Qatar. The people are very nice and now very dear to me. That helped me prepare my best to do what I came here for.
“During the finals, I missed two targets and it became challenging but I was determined to do my best.”
Earlier, in women’s trap final, Smith Penny of Australia prevailed over Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova of Slovakia in a shoot-off after they tied 28 each. Penny ended up with a successful shot to claim the gold while Stefecekova had to settle for the silver.
Kathleen Alicia Gough of USA took bronze (20) while Spain’s Fatima Galvez ended fourth.
Speaking of her victory, the 26-year-old Penny said, “I’m delighted with the way I achieved the win. “Feels great. I’ve been working pretty hard on some specific things at home, and it came out and today was a good day. So it’s turned out well.”
Both of the top two finishers missed seven out of their 35 targets in the medal round, but Smith said she adjusted herself to the conditions.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure (why we all missed many targets). But whatever it was, we all seemed to make an adjustment right at about the same time, and that worked out. So it ended up well. But that was a battle for sure,” she said.
Smith also said the standard of the sport among women is growing. “The quality is really high. The standard is growing in women’s trap and it’s just fantastic too. The competition is really ramping up leading into the Paris Olympics next year,” she said.
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