Vietnamese marksmen to compete in World Cup

Vinh’s best result was a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics last August.

He scored 191.3 points in 20 shots, ranking second behind South Korean Jin Jong-oh who also takes part in today event in Munich.

Jin is No 1 seed here while Vinh is No 2.

Among 105 shooters, there is another Vietnamese Tran Quoc Cuong who hopes to win his first ever World Cup medal.

Other title favourites are Rai Jitu of India who is the world No 3 and Chinese Pang Wei, No 5, who pocketed a bronze at Rio event.

Vinh, Cuong and three other teammates are going to participate in the 10m air pistol class on May 22.

They will face strong rivals, such as Indian World Cup winner Matsuda Tomoyuki of Japan, Olympic bronze medalist Jitu and Olympic silver medal holder Felipe Almeida Wu of Brazil.

Vinh, Wu, Jitu and Tomoyuki are No 1, No 2, No 4 and No 5, respectively, in the current world ranking. At the World Cup in India, Vinh won a silver medal in the 10m air pistol, behind Tomoyuki.

Army Colonel Vinh’s latest result was a gold at the 41st Southeast Asia Shooting Championship in Malaysia earlier this month. Cuong finished at No 8.

Head coach Nguyen Thi Nhung said the training board hasn’t set any targets for Vinh but with his skills and experience, Vinh can earn high results at the event.

Also kicking off today is the women’s 25m pistol pitting Vietnamese Le Thi Linh Chi and Dang Le Ngoc Mai against 84 rivals, including world No 1 Anna Korakaki of Greece, No 2 Monika Karsch of Germany and No 4 Heidi Dielthelm Gerber of Switzerland. The Vietnamese duo will also compete in the 10m air pistol category.

Nguyen Duy Hoang also tests his skills today in the men’s 10m air rifle before he shoots in the 50m rifle three position and 50m rifle prone in the next few days.

Phan Xuan Chuyen, Phan Cong Minh and Ha Minh Thanh will compete in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol.

The annual World Cup, which draws more than 750 marksmen in 20 disciplines, will run until May 22.

After Germany, Vietnam will take part in the other World Cup in Azerbaijan in June.