"VAN" (Sports Desk - 09.12.2025) :: China's Jiang Yiting scored a perfect score of 36 from 36 to win the women's skeet at the 2025 ISSF World Cup Final in Doha, Qatar, in a new-look eight-person final.
She was joined on the podium by the defending champion and world champion, Samantha Simonton of the United States, and Greece's Emmanouela Katzouraki.
Qualification
With seeding important in shotgun shooting, Jiang gave herself the best possible chance to contend for a medal when she equalled the world junior record of 123 in qualification for top spot. The 21-year-old was followed by Emmanouela Katzouraki of Greece and Victoria Larsson from Sweden on 121, as Che Yufei of China, Dania Vizzi of the United States and Marjut Heinonen from Finland occupied the other spots in the top six on 120 and 118 respectively.
Under the old format, this would have meant both Americans Kim Rhode and Samantha Simonton would have missed out, but with eight qualifiers, the world champion took the final spot with a score of 117, with Reem Ghanem A H Al-Sharshani of Qatar and AIN athlete Arina Kuznetsova just missing out. Wu Yingying of China and Hajar Ghulam Mohammed of Qatar were 11th and 12th.
The Final
The new-look final would see two athletes depart after target 12, meaning less room for error than before. For Jiang, her first six doubles were perfect, expectedly matched by Simonton, who has had a stellar 2025. They were followed by Vizzi, one shot behind.
Katzouraki's double miss on the third double would put her in some jeopardy, as would two misses from Che, whose second miss was confirmed by the VAR system being trialled by the ISSF. It meant a total of four athletes were locked on a score of 10, including Larsson. Fortunately for them, a miss from Heinonen on her final shot, ensured the lower-ranked Finn would be eliminated, along with Rhode, whose misses in the second and third double meant she played catch-up as the seventh seed.
Another double elimination loomed at 24 targets, but this would not faze Jiang, who cleared all 12 again. Simonton would lose touch after missing on her 16th shot. For the others, it was about minimising errors Katzouraki would clear all but one to pull herself above some of her opponents. Che would match her, even matching her miss on the 20th target. The pair were now tied on 21. Larsson had relied on her higher seeding for safety at the last elimination, but three misses dropped her to sixth. For Vizzi, that seeding was important. Having stayed one ahead of Katzouraki and Che, she missed on target 24, meaning the fifth seed would miss out in the tiebreaker, leaving in fifth.
Unshakeable Jiang Doesn't Miss
Some consolation for Samantha Simonton will be that you sometimes cannot beat perfection. The American has been used to standing at the top of the podium this year, but she would watch the Chinese athlete clear all 12 shots without concern, while a miss on target 30 meant she would give her opponent a little breathing room going into the final shots.
The real question was who would take the bronze medal, with the next four shots after the double elimination, deciding who that would be.
The second seed Katzouraki would miss her third, which was again matched by Che. Unfortunately for the fourth seed, she would just miss the medals in fourth place. At this stage, Katzouraki trailed Simonton by three and ultimately took third.
What the Athletes Had to Say
Jiang Yiting: "This medal is very surprising for me and I am very happy to get the gold because it's only the second ISSF World Cup Final I have been in.
"The new format has been a challenge for me but during the daily training we also have had specialised training in the new format, so I was confident."
Samantha Simonton: "No one wants to have the last bib but it's always fun to be the underdog too. This has been a great year. I've learned a lot this year, just about myself even without the wins. I've learned a lot from winning.
"I would love a rest! We just had a US selection match two weeks ago before we came here so I would like to just chill somewhere.
"I really like the old final. This one is just so fast and Jiang has already made it perfect. Not saying it's easier, but it is shorter. I was pretty nervous knowing I didn't have any time to make a mistake especially in the first 12 or even 24."
Emmanouela Katzouraki: "I'm super happy. I've worked pretty hard for this competition and the last time I was here I didn't pay too much attention to this competition and I wanted to make up for that. The new final was interesting, I thought I was having a shoot-off because I didn't know what was going on, but missing those targets now is super important because we are shooting fewer targets. Even thought I'm super stressed I'm super happy to have the bronze medal.
"I have a lot of participations in finals in international competitions and I appreciate that a lot, but I need to add more medals to my collection. I have lots of fourth, fifth and sixth places and I want to go higher than that so it was a good way to end the season."
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