Olympic champion Sheng Lihao of China clinched the bronze medal in the men’s 10-meter air rifle event at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany, on Thursday, marking his second World Cup medal of the 2025 season.
Sheng, who secured gold in Lima in April, dominated the qualification round with an impressive score of 635.3 points, leading the field into the finals.
In the final showdown, Russian shooter Ilia Marsov surged ahead with a commanding 106.9 points after 10 shots. Sheng faced stiff competition as Norway’s Jon-Hermann Hegg overtook him during the elimination stage. Despite Sheng’s valiant efforts to reclaim his lead, he finished third with 230.2 points, just 0.9 points behind Hegg.
Marsov maintained his composure to claim the gold with a total of 252.3 points, while Hegg took the silver with 252.0 points.
In the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions final, Norway’s Jeanette Hegg Duestad established an early lead and never looked back, capturing the gold medal with 466.9 points. Switzerland’s Emely Jaeggi earned silver with 464.8 points, and India’s Sift Kaur Samra took bronze with 453.1 points. China’s Miao Wanru finished strong in fifth place.
China continues to lead the medal standings with three golds and one bronze, followed closely by Norway with two golds and one silver.
The ISSF World Cup action resumes on Friday with the women’s 10m air pistol and men’s 25m rapid fire pistol events.
