WDSC 2016: Ukraine’s Serhii Fomin grabs gold in men’s 25m sport pistol event

Another final was contested on Day 1 of the first World Deaf Shooting Championships at the Dynamo Sports Complex, Kazan.

Almost 70 athletes representing 16 nations compete at the tournament. The second set of medals was up for grabs in the men’s 25m sport pistol. All four finalists were from Russia and Ukraine.

Eventually, it was Serhii FOMIN (UKR) who claimed gold in the men’s 25m sport pistol final. In the gold-medal match, he managed to beat Roman KUZMIN (RUS), 8-4. In the bronze-medal match, another Ukrainian representative, Oleksandr KOLODII, succeeded to defeat Anton MALUSH (RUS) with the same score. 

In a post-final interview, Serhii Fomin gave the thumbs-up to the tournament management and spoke of the high skill level of the tournament's participants. “It’s my first time here, in Kazan, and the city has already charmed me. I liked your city very much; everything is beautiful, people are nice and hospitable, the atmosphere is friendly. Dynamo’s shooting range is very good; everything is organised to a high standard. I liked everything and will definitely visit your city in the future,” the champion shared.

Speaking of his performance and the participants’ skill level, Fomin said:  “I’m standing on the top spot of the podium, which means that everything turned out well and was not in vain. Of course, I’m happy with the result. Referees are great and I enjoyed shooting. Only best deaf shooters from all around the world, including my home country and Russia, arrived here, in Kazan. But we are all colleagues here, we are all friends. It’s friendly rivalry.”

When asked about weather conditions during the tournament, the winner said: “We are well used to such kind of weather (cool weather with wind and rain), so it didn’t bother us much. Training camps, championships and other competitions are usually held in Western Ukraine. And at this time of the year, we have the same weather.”

Serhii Fomin also added that world deaf shooting championships should be held on a regular basis. “It’s extremely important for our sport’s reputation and for the development of both deaf shooting and the Deaflympic Movement in general. Therefore, I hope that the second edition of the tournament will be held next year and maybe in Ukraine,” he concluded.

For his part, Russia’s silver medallist in the event, Roman Kuzmin, admitted that the reasons of his loss were the lack of luck, perseverance, patience and focus. “In the final, my emotions got in the way and I was not focused enough: I felt tiredness and my hand was not steady. Surely, I will do my best to perform better at the next competitions,” he said. According to the Russian deaf shooter, his priority task was to make it to the top three. “Whether it will be the first place, or second, or third, it was of no importance to me,” he admitted.