Vadovicova opens season with World Cup win

Vadovicova showed no signs of losing the winning form that she has enjoyed since she picked up European gold in 2013 in the R2 (women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1), and then followed up with a world title in 2014.

Slovakian world and European champion Veronika Vadovicova got an ideal start to her 2015 season on Monday (30 March), taking victory at the IPC Shooting World Cup in Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain.

Vadovicova showed no signs of losing the winning form that she has enjoyed since she picked up European gold in 2013 in the R2 (women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1), and then followed up with a world title in 2014.

Finishing ahead of Australia’s Elizabeth Kosmala (200.7), the Slovakian got her eye in by qualifying in pole position, before easing to her first win of the year with a score of 205.4.

Great Britain’s Lorraine Lambert (177.7) collected bronze for the hosts, in front of visiting International Paralympic Committee President Sir Philip Craven who himself used to train at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium venue during his career as a wheelchair basketball player.

The P2 (women’s 10m air pistol SH1) was taken by Azerbaijan’s European champion Yelena Taranova (194.4), despite a spirited attempt by Ukrainian Iryna Liakhu (183.4) in the final stages.

Liakhu shot a 10.3 and 10.4 compared to Taranova’s double 10.0 with her final two shots but had left her comeback too late.

Anastasiia Skok (162.3) made it a double podium for Ukraine with bronze.

France got their 2015 campaign underway with a victory courtesy of Richard Didier in R1 (men’s 10m air rifle standing SH1).

Didier (203.7) went head-to-head with the UAE’s silver medallist Abdullah Sultan Alaryani (202.4), but it was Didier’s high score of 10.8 in the early stages of the finals that just sealed his win over the 2012 R6 (mixed 50m rifle prone SH1) Paralympic champion.

Alaryani’s teammate Obaid Aldahmani (179.9) completed the podium.

In the falling target rifle SH2, Great Britain showed their dominance with Tim Jeffery taking gold over Ukraine’s Vasyl Kovalchuk and Australia’s Luke Cain in silver and bronze respectively.

Sunday (29 March) saw British shooter Deanna Coates take the win in the falling target rifle SH1 ahead of Kosmala and Coates’ teammate Mandy Pankhurst.

Competition continues in Stoke Mandeville until Wednesday (1 April).

Full results are available at IPC Shooting’s website as well as live results provided by IPC Shooting’s Official Results and Target Systems Provider, Sius.