S. Korean, German shooters earn golds in 10m air rifle at ISSF World Championship

CAIRO, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Ban Hyo-jin of South Korea and Germany's Maximilian Dallinger claimed gold medals in the women's and men's 10m air rifle events respectively at the 2025 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Cairo on Saturday.

Both sealed their victories in thrilling final rounds in front of a cheering crowd at Egypt International Olympic City.

Olympic champion Ban delivered a composed performance to win the women's title with 255.0 points, narrowly beating China's junior world champion Wang Zifei, who scored 254.0 to take silver. India's Elavenil Valarivan secured bronze with 232.0.

The match was closely contested, as Ban and Wang, both 18, stayed head-to-head until the final round, where Ban held firm to win.

"I understood that the World Championship would be more difficult than the Olympics, so I trained harder than usual to be on the top," Ban told Xinhua after the final. "In the final, everything went well as I expected, but in qualification I had some issues with my points and condition, so that part was tougher."

She said she mentally prepared for the competitive atmosphere in Cairo. "I knew the crowd would be louder and the tension higher during the last shot, so I practiced for that mentally and told myself to treat it like the first shot," she said.

Later in the evening, Dallinger produced an equally dramatic finish in the men's final, scoring 252.0 points to edge Sweden's 2023 world champion Victor Lindgren, who finished with 251.7.

Reigning Olympic champion Sheng Lihao of China took bronze with 229.9.

Trailing for most of the match, Dallinger mounted a strong comeback in the closing rounds, overtaking Lindgren by just 0.3 points after 24 shots.

"The feeling is incredible," Dallinger said. "It's my first individual World Championship medal. The World Cup is nice, but the World Championship is different - more people are here, everyone is in top form."

"I knew Victor was a very strong shooter in the final, but I was hoping for the gold medal and I worked very hard for it, although I honestly didn't expect it."

The 29-year-old German described the win as a comeback after a difficult few years. "It was a very tough year for me, going up and down, and coming back like this means a lot," he said. "My next goal is to defend this title next year."

The 2025 ISSF World Championship is being held in Egypt from November 6 to 18, featuring more than 700 shooters from around the world. ■