Chinese shooter Qu crowned in men's skeet despite heavy rain

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shooter Qu Ridong snatched the last gold of the Good Luck Beijing ISSF World Cup in men's skeet with 144 hits despite a heavy rain drenching the shooting range here on Sunday.

Russian shooter Konstantin Tsuranov and Italian Andrea Filippetti, with equal score of 143, got the silver and bronze after a shoot-off.

The trio, sharing a same qualification score of 120 and one point behind American marksman, World Record holder Vincent Hancock, pursued neck and neck until after the sixth shot, the 19-year-old teenage shooter lapsed twice and lost his advantage.

Tsuranov who had few appearance in international events, missed the 13th target, and soon Qu missed the 16th.

Filippetti, with some experiences in world cups but no medals, however, failed to hold his nerve and let go of the 18th bird, returning to the same line with his two rivals.

The 40-year-old Chinese shooter, champion of the 2006 World Cup Qingyuan fort, then maintained his sharpness to the last minute, registering a highest final round point of 14 hits.

In the shoot-off, the 36-year-old Tsuranov managed to shoot down all the three pairs of targets, whereas the 32-year-old Filippetti got five to settle for a bronze.

Hancock, gold medalist of the 2005 World Championships in Lonato who missed another two targets, finished the fourth with 142 hits after another shoot-off.