2012 London Summer Olympics

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Leuris Pupo emerged the knight in shining armor for success-starved Cuba, clinching the communist country's first gold medal at the London Olympics --- in men's 25m rapid-fire pistol with a record-equaling feat.

Rapid fire is the most difficult shooting events, made even more difficult by the new format, introduced to make shooting sport more television friendly. But the 35-year-old was game for the tough challenge from the likes of world champions and a gritty army marksman from India, Vijay Kumar, who was like a raging bull in China shop Friday.

But Pupo, who shot a superb 34 out of a maximum 40, finally broke the vice-like grip of the Indian, pushing him to second spot with 30 points. China's Feng Ding was a distant third with 27 points after being eliminated after 35 shots (seventh string of five shots in a maximum of eight strings).

Pupo dedicated the win to the people of Cuba first and then his family and friends who have "always had belief in my abilities".

Despite being ranked 21st in the world, the underdog showed nerves of steel had hardly any emotion as he went about his business in a cool and calculated manner, shaking hands calmly with India's Vijay Kumar, who was a deserving sliver-medallist for success-starved India. India have only bagged two medals in the London Games and both have come in shooting events --- Gagan Narang (bronze in 10m air rifle) and Vijay (silver in 25m rapid fore pistol)

Pupo was the most consistent of the six shooters who made it to the finals, hitting all five targets three times in the eight rounds. Unlike other Olympic shooting disciplines, such as 10m air rifle, air pistol or shotgun events, there has been a drastic change in rules in rapid fire.

The qualification round scored are not added to the final round scores and the six shooters, once they qualify for the final, have to start from scratch. The one who scores the maximum points in the 'hit' or 'miss' format in the eight strings of time-constrained five shots each, emerges the winner.

India's Vijay, coming from a family of army servicemen --- his father is also a lower-ranked army personnel --- pumped his fist after the nerve-jangling final. Vijay, coming from a small village in the north Indian hilly state of Himachal Pradesh said the medal meant a lot to him, especially after years of toil in the sweaty shooting ranges of the country.

Russia's Alexei Klimov, who broke the world record in qualification, shooting an amazing 592 out of a maximum 600, could not withstand the pressure in the final and was eliminated in fourth place after hitting 23 out of 30 targets.

 

 

Leuris Pupo Brings Cheers to Medal-Starved Cuba