Wrapping up eight medals including five golds at the Universiade shooting range, Leonid Ekimov made himself in the inside track for an Olympic berth in the dazzling Russian team, or at least a big effort to that.
The 19-year-old all-round pistol shooter became the only brilliant star here in Bangkok by winning five golds, including Olympic events of the men's 10m air pistol and 50m pistol, two silvers and one bronze from all four men's pistol disciplines in team and individual.
However, it was not the bunch of medals that made him shine.
A 571-point qualification score in the 50m pistol event would easily secure him a top three spot or even higher in the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup series.
"Yes, this is my personal record, but not a surprise." he said. "I just take it as ordinary."
It was a surprise for his Chinese rivals who normally had scores of around 565 points.
"I reported the score to our national head coach Wang Yifu," said Zhang Chi, coach of the Chinese Universiade team. "Wang was also shocked."
The highest qualification score of the 50m pistol event at the World Cups this year was 572-point, produced by Portuguese veteran Joao Costa in Munich this June and was the only one above 570 mark.
Ekimov, started competing in 2002, thus became a hot medal contender for the Beijing Olympics. However, he would have to fight for a berth in Russia's Olympic squad before that.
The sports-majored student from Pomorskiy State University was only Russia's fifth choice in the two men's pistol events behind Olympic Champion Mikhail Nestruev, Olympic medalist Vladimir Isakov, World Cup Final winner Boris Kokorev and double World Cup medalist Vladimir Gontcharov, all of whom had won quota places for Russia and undertaken all Russia's Olympic chances for the men's pistol events both in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
However, Ekimov, whose weighty international achievements before 2007 were European champion and World Cup bronze medal, had already added fresh blood to the Russian veteran squad this year by winning two silvers in the World Cup in Sydney. In the 10m event, he had a deficit of just three tenths of a point to 30-year- old Gontcharov while in the 50m event, he was just after Kokorev, 48, the Olympic winner in 1996.
"I haven't think about the Olympics next year yet, but I really want to be there," said Ekimov.
Source: Xinhua
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