The fourth day of the World University Championship Shooting took place on October 30, featuring the women’s 25m pistol rapid fire, men’s 50m rifle three positions, and men’s and women’s trap events, as athletes competed for medals across the three disciplines.
In the women’s 25m pistol rapid fire, Czech shooter Klara Tichackova claimed gold, Host athlete Yu-Ju Chen took silver, while South Korea’s Kim Sujin won bronze, adding to the bronze medal she had previously earned in the 10m air pistol event.
50m rifle three positions is Czech shooter Jiri Privratsky’s strongest event. Ranked No. 5 in the world, he also finished fourth at the Paris Olympics. He went on to claim gold, while Slovakia’s Lukas Horinek took silver and Switzerland’s Malo Jaboulet secured bronze.
Despite winning gold, Privratsky felt he could have performed better.“Of course, I am happy about the medal, but my performance was not what I expected. I am a bit disappointed with myself, and I know there are many things I still need to work on. I know how I wanted to perform, but it did not go as planned,” Privratsky said.
Jiri Privratsky (CZE)
In the men’s trap event, Spain’s Daniel Fernandez de Vincente won gold, followed by Italy’s Luca Gerri with silver and Cyprus’ Giorgos Grigoriou with bronze.Italy also enjoyed a strong showing in the women’s trap event. Valentina Panza claimed gold, while the Czech Republic’s Zina Hrdlickova took silver and Italy’s Elena Navelli won bronze. Italy finished the day with three medals across the two trap events.
For Panza, the gold medal marked an important milestone: her first individual gold at an international competition. She said she had spent considerable time before the event identifying her weaknesses and working to improve them. Believing in herself was also key to her victory.
Team support played an important role in Italy’s success as well. Three Italian shooters reached the women’s trap final, with two making it onto the podium. Panza said her teammates prepared together and encouraged one another throughout the competition, helping them work as a united team.
“Everyone trained together and tried to work as one team. When we reached the finals, we encouraged and supported each other,” she said.
