WELL DONE, GIRLS! Aleksandra wins gold and Anđelija silver at the Shooting World Cup in Cairo!

Serbia’s female representatives ended their participation at the World Cup in Cairo in spectacular fashion. Aleksandra Stojadinović won gold and Anđelija Stevanović silver in the tournament’s final event — the women’s 10m air rifle competition.

The final day was highly successful for Serbia, thanks in part to Lazar Kovačević, who finished seventh in the 50m rifle three positions event.

A total of 83 women competed in the air rifle qualifying round. One of the youngest participants, Anđelija Stevanović, finished second with 635.4 points. Only experienced Norwegian shooter Jeanette Hegg Duestad was more accurate, by just 0.2 points. Aleksandra Havran secured her place in the final by finishing eighth with 631.1 points.

Serbia was the only country with two competitors in the final, which unfolded as a closely fought contest.

Both Aleksandra and Anđelija were in medal contention from the start. Several shooters were separated by tiny margins in the battle for the podium. Aleksandra Stojadinović was most often in the lead, and after the 20th shot, when only four competitors remained on the firing line, Stojadinović and Japan’s Nobata shared first place. Stevanović was just 0.1 points behind them, while fourth-placed Chinese shooter Fan trailed Anđelija by 0.4 points.

Fan remained in fourth place and missed out on a medal, while the other three competitors continued the final with realistic chances of victory. After the 22nd shot, Nobata was eliminated in third place, finishing 0.3 points behind the two Serbian shooters, who were tied for first. The bronze medal was her second in Cairo, as she had been part of the winning mixed team on the opening day.

Both Serbian representatives scored 10.4 with their 23rd shots, keeping the head-to-head battle going. The final shot decided the contest: Anđelija again scored 10.4, while Aleksandra was 0.3 points more accurate to secure the gold medal.

By winning gold, Aleksandra Stojadinović qualified for the World Cup Final in Rome in December. Anđelija Stevanović had already secured her place several months ago by winning at the World Cup in Munich.

“This was my fifth World Cup final, and I have finally won a medal. I’m over the moon. I’m also very happy for Anđelija. It’s a fantastic day for our team,” said Aleksandra Stojadinović, who turned 22 two months ago.

“The final was very stressful because tiny margins made all the difference. When Aleksandra and I were the only ones left on the firing line fighting for gold, I felt as though I were competing at the national championships. This was only my second World Cup appearance in my career, and I have now won my second medal. I didn’t expect to have a season like this, but even bigger challenges await us before the end of the year,” Anđelija Stevanović said.

Lazar Kovačević scored 590 points in the three-position qualifying round, five more than in the elimination round the previous day, and reached the final in 10th place. Two shooters ahead of him were not eligible to qualify for the final. Those two, Estli of Norway and Entner of Austria, were among the most accurate in qualifying, each scoring 592 points. French shooter Chris recorded the same score.

Fourth-placed Nepejhal of the Czech Republic scored 591, while the shooters ranked fifth through 10th each scored 590. Kovačević’s place among the top 10 was secured by his final standing position, in which he recorded the fifth-best score of 196 points.

The Serbian shooter made a good start in the final. The close contest from qualifying continued, and Kovačević was fourth after the kneeling position. He lost ground to the leaders in the prone position. He began catching up with his rivals in the standing position but could not close the gap, finishing seventh after the 40th shot.

The other three Serbian representatives finished between 44th and 46th place. Aleksa Rakonjac and Milenko Sebić each scored 584 points, while Marko Ivanović recorded 583.

In addition to the three finals held today, Serbian shooters achieved another strong result in Cairo. Anđelija Stevanović and Aleksa Rakonjac finished fourth in the mixed team event on the opening day of the World Cup.

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