Rio de Janeiro, April 9 (IANS) Ten days before the start of Rio Olympic shooting test event, Chinese shooting team has arrived in the host city to get a taste of local climate, venue and jet lag.
More than 30 of the 45 medalists from the London Olympics will compete in the ISSF World Cup for rifle, pistol and shotgun, which is also an Olympic test event and will be held between April 14-25. The Chinese shooting federation has decided to sent the national Olympic squad to this test event.
Wang Yifu, head coach of the Chinese shooting team, said the reason to come earlier is to get adjusted to Rio’s environment. Because the Olympic shooting center is not open until the start of the test event, the Chinese team selected Brazil Navy School as their training camp.
“Most of our shooters come to Rio for the first time, they are not familiar with this southern hemisphere city,” Wang said.
The Chinese team completed their Olympic qualification last month. A total of 17 shooters gained the opportunity to compete at the Rio Olympics, among whom six are Olympic gold medalists and nine are Olympic newcomers.
Yi Siling, who captured the first gold medal of the London Olympics by winning women’s 10 m air rifle event, will continue her “first gold” mission in Rio.
“After coming to Rio I still have some jet lag, but I feel Rio is a beautiful city with mountain and sea,” she said. “Coming to the Olympic host city, I’m very happy, but at the same time I’m a bit nervous. I have to be patient and clear about what I should do during the competition.”
The gold medalist for men’s 10 m air pistol, Pang Wei pointed out that during the test event, the main aim is to find problems and get prepared for the Olympics.