Tammaro Cassandro won a memorable men's skeet final, defeating his compatriot Gabriele Rossetti on the final day of the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi, India.
The final day of the ISSF World Cup Final saw four more athletes claim gold medals in New Delhi, India, with an Italian one-two in the men's skeet being a highlight at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.
Tammaro Cassandro and Gabriele Rossetti went down to a dramatic final shot in the event, while Samantha Simonton from the United States was victorious in the women's event.
Alessandra Perilli from San Marino and China's Qi Ying claimed gold medals in the women's and men's trap finals too.
Men's Skeet Final
Tammaro Cassandro and Gabriele Rossetti were both seeking redemption for near misses at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Cassandro, one of the favourites for a medal, finished in fourth. His agony of just missing out was also felt by Rossetti who finished seventh in qualification - missing the final in a shoot-off.
Life was made easier with the absence of Vincent Hancock, but even stronger when Hancock's American compatriot Conner Prince and Paris 2024 bronze medallist Lee Meng Yuan from Chinese Taipei missed qualification for the final.
Cassandro qualified top of the table, winning a mammoth shoot-off of 22 shots each with Rashid Saleh Al-Athba from Qatar to take the top seed. Despite two misses in his first 10 shots, he would remain consistent enough to clear his next 36 targets in a row. Meanwhile, Rossetti would clear all of his first 31 targets and would not miss another until shot 46.
While the Italians stretched their lead, Mairaj Ahmad Khan from India was the first to bow out, followed by Jesper Hansen from Denmark by virtue of seeding in fifth place. Al-Athba was unable to replicate his qualification form and would miss the medals by one shot, meaning the bronze would go to Anant Jeet Singh Naruka from India.
At the point of Naruka's elimination, Rossetti led the way on 48 to Cassandro's 47, who was four ahead of the Indian. In the end, it was Cassandro's consistent patches that were the difference. From his miss on shot 44, he cleared the next 16 targets. In that same period, Rossetti had missed thrice. A miss for him on shot 54 put the pair equal and it looked destined to head to a shoot-off. While Cassandro cleared his last target, Rossetti missed the final shot, handing his teammate the victory, with the score finishing 57-56.
Women's Skeet Final
Bouncing back from a difficult start, Samantha Simonton had a comeback to take the women's skeet gold medal. The American missed three before the first elimination - which saw India's Ganemat Sekhon miss four - but then struck 35 targets in a row.
Italy's Diana Bacosi had only stayed in the competition due to her seeding on two occasions at the start - with the early leader and her compatriot Martina Maruzzo being the next to depart. But from there, the Rio 2016 champion Bacosi showed the form of an Olympic gold medallist, with 32 targets struck without missing.
Dania Vizzi, Simonton's teammate, would finish fourth, far behind France's Lucie Anastassiou and Bacosi. Heading into the final 20 shots, the pair were tied, two shots behind Simonton. While Bacosi's streak continued, Anastassiou would miss three of her last 10 shots, having to settle for the bronze.
A miss for Simonton on shot 50 brought the gap for gold back down to one, but Bacosi's miss on shot 57 brought the American's lead back up to two, ensuring the victory with the score finishing 56-54.
Women's Trap Final
Alessandra Perilli claimed her second ISSF World Cup Final title nine years on from winning in Nicosia in 2015, winning in dominant fashion.
The early leader in the women's trap final was Turkiye's Safiye Temizdemir ahead of Fatima Galvez, one of the Olympic finalists. Glaring in her omission was defending Olympic champion Adriana Ruano from Guatemala, who had a qualification to forget, missing the top six.
Perilli had only made the final in a four-way shoot-off and after a modest opening half, the Sammarinese athlete was nearly faultless in the second half.
Silvana Stanco from Italy, another Olympic finalist, struggled in New Delhi, missing eight from 20 shots to finish sixth. Next to leave was Ray Bassil from Lebanon after a three-way countback. Despite starting well, Galvez's mistakes cost her a medal. Erica Sessa made it into the final series because of her stronger seeding, meaning Temizdemir took bronze.
Perilli, who scored 14 in a row in the middle of her competition, had a two-shot lead over the Italian with 10 to go. Perilli once again went on a scoring streak of 14 shots without fault, but that deficit became a gulf when Sessa missed four shots in a row. Going into the final five, Perilli already had the victory wrapped up, winning by a total of 45-39.
Men's Trap Final
After winning the silver medal at Paris 2024, Qi Ying was victorious in the men's trap final, stopping hopes of a victory for India on the last day of the ISSF World Cup Final.
Qi, who missed the Olympic gold medal to Nathan Hales, took advantage of the absent Briton and won his second ISSF World Cup gold. The Chinese athlete set the standard from the off, striking down all of his opening 35 targets, by which point he had a four-shot lead.
While he looked destined for gold, Olympic finalist James Willett from Australia finished fifth, ahead of Czech Republic's David Kostelecky. Spain's Alberto Fernandez placed fourth and was eliminated before Qi missed for the first time.
N Tolga Tuncer from Turkiye had a great competition, winning his first individual ISSF World Cup medal by holding off Fernandez for bronze on countback, but then missing out on the battle for gold by the same rule against Vivaan Kapoor from India.
Kapoor's challenge was difficult - overhaul a four-shot lead with 10 to go. While Qi missed two, he would clear the rest, winning by a margin of 47-44.