Bartekova takes skeet gold, 2016 winner Hill sixth

Danka Bartekova is back. The 32-year-old London Olympic bronze medallist from Slovakia won women’s Skeet at the Qatar Open beating veteran Svetlana Demina of Russia 53 to 48 in the gold medal match yesterday.
Experience and doggedness prevailed as Bartekova led the competition right from the qualification stage, making it to the semi-final with 70 hits, one more than 55-year-old Demina.
Another Russian, 31-year-old Marina Belikova, finished third.
Last year’s winner, 19-year-old Amber Hill of the Great Britain finished sixth, behind Vanessa Hauff of Germany and Kazakhstan’s Anastassiya Molchanova.
The Slovakian sharpshooter, who had won her last World Cup stage back in 2014 in Tucson, Arizona, was palpably happy with her win.
“I’m very happy with the win because today we had very difficult conditions. It was only thirteen degrees and a strong wind was also there. I am satisfied, although I have to work on some aspects of my game to make things better. But I know that I am on right track,” Bartekova said.
“It was a difficult final as we were following a new format. I was focused and was feeling good from the first round with the target and I think my tactics worked today.”
Bartekova had finished eighth in Skeet at the 2008 Summer Olympics and won bronze in London. This is the second gold for Slovakia in the women’s category in the tournament after Zuzana Rehak Stefecekova won the Trap gold on the first day.
Qatar’s Sarah Mohamed finished eighth after failing to score in the three-way shoot-out for the last qualifying place in the final after finishing behind Hauff and Russia’s Anastasiia Krakhmaleva. Sarah was part of the team that won the Skeet silver at the Arab Shooting Championship recently. The other members of the team were Reem al-Sharshani and Sarah’s sister Hajar.
British teenager Hill, who narrowly missed out on a place in the finals of the Skeet event at the Rio Olympics, found some consolation in her performance. “It is a steady start to the year for me, making the finals of my first competition of the season, and finishing sixth and going home with some dollars.”
In the women’s junior skeet, Alina Fazylzyanova of Russia claimed gold, while Esmee Van Der Veen of the Netherlands and Margarita Gervorkian of Russia clinched silver and bronze respectively.
The Men’s Skeet and Junior Men’s Skeet finals are scheduled for today afternoon. French double champion Anthony Terras, who has also won the World Championship and World Cup Finals twice, leads the qualifiers with 50.
Qatar’s Khaled al-Muhannadi and Abdulaziz al-Attiyah shot 49, while London Games bronze medallist Nasser al-Attiyah shot 48.
In the Junior Men’s Skeet qualifying round, two local lads are on course to getting into the eliminations. Abdulla Rashdan shot 48, two less than leader Jack Fairclough (Great Britain), while Mohamed al-Khulaifi shot 44.
The men’s skeet final will be held today at 2:30pm.

Women’s Skeet Final RESULTS
1. Danka Bartekova (SVK) 24-22-24-0-0-70-53
2. Svetlana Demina (RUS) 22-24-23-0-0-69-48
3. Marina Belikova (RUS) 25-22-22-0-0-69-42

Junior Women’s Skeet Final
1. Alina Fazylzyanova (RUS) 21-22-24-0-0-67
2. Esmee Van Der Veen (NED) 19-24-23-0-0-66
3. Elena Bukhonova (RUS) 23-21-21-0-0-65+2