"VAN" (Sports Desk - 09.05.2025) :: Elia Sdruccioli and Arina Kuznetsova followed up on their bronze successes in South America with victories at the ISSF World Cup in Nicosia, Cyprus; where they won men's and women's skeet gold medals.
Both were third in the season opener in Buenos Aires, but were able to go better this time. For the Italian Sdruccioli, it was his first individual World Cup title, three years on from winning team gold in Nicosia too.
Men's Skeet Final
It was an interesting line-up for final, with Chinese Taipei's Olympic bronze medallist Lee Meng-Yuan and China's Han Xu amongst those missing the cut. But what was clear, is anyone could win in Nicosia. Although, it would not be Ireland's Jack Fairclough's day as he exited in sixth. However, it was his first final in a World Cup event.
Following him out in fifth was two-time podium winner Sebastian Kuntschik of Austria, followed by Czechia's Jakub Tomecek in fourth - competing in just his third skeet final on the World Cup circuit.
What was more apparent was the leaders for the medals - Elia Sdruccioli from Italy, Jesper Hansen from Denmark and Charalambos Chalkiadakis from Greece, who was well-supported in the neighbouring country. Sdruccioli was the early leader and was flawless until missing on shot 24. By that point, Chalkiadakis trailed by three, while Hansen was only one behind.
Chalkiadakis had came under pressure from Tomecek, who he was level with at that point, but the Czech athlete missed five of his last 10 shots to be eliminated. The Greek was more consistent from then on and secured the bronze medal.
It was the Italian's to lose when Hansen missed three times in that same series - making the gap now at two shots. Both shot well in the closing stages and Sdruccioli finished on a total of 55 to Hansen's 52.
Women's Skeet Final
Kuznetsova, representing the independent neutral athlete (AIN) team, had a similar run to Sdruccioli, overcoming what was a strong showing in qualification from the Chinese duo of Wu Yingying and Che Yufei.
The trio qualified for the final along with France's Lucie Anastassiou, Samantha Simonton from the United States and Gabriela Rodriguez from Mexico. While Wu had topped qualification, she would be the first to be eliminated with a difficult opening run in her first final. Anastassiou had similarly struggled and would not have enough time to get back on terms with Rodriguez, who placed fourth.
This meant Simonton, who took silver in Peru, would make it onto the podium again, surviving by one shot. However, she trailed the impressive Kuznetsova and Che by three and two shots respectively. For Kuznetsova, she would miss just two shots in her first 40, seemingly not flinching when a mistake crept in. The same could not be said for Che, who was in medal contention for the first time on the circuit. Three misses in the next series while Simonton missed just once, meant they were back level.
In the decider for bronze, Simonton missed twice, but Che missed thrice - taking bronze. With those two misses, it would take a disaster for Kuznetsova to lose her lead, who now led by four. A faultless end came for Simonton, but it was only good enough for silver. For Kuznetsova, it was her first World Cup title, by a margin of 54 to 52.
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