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Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Olympics-Shooting-Five to watch at the Tokyo Olympics

FILE PHOTO: South Korea's Jin Jong-oh poses with his gold medal at the victory ceremony for the men's 10m air pistol event at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich in London July 28, 2012. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Five shooters to watch out for at the Tokyo Olympics:

JIN JONG-OH (SOUTH KOREA)

The 41-year-old Korean has already secured his place as the Olympics' most successful individual shooter with four golds, including three 50m pistol titles in a row.

FILE PHOTO: Shooting - ISSF World Cup Shotgun - Lonato, Italy - May 10, 2021 Vincent Hancock of the U.S. celebrates second place in the Men's Skeet Final REUTERS/Massimo Pinca

The 50m pistol will not be contested in Tokyo but Jin won the 10m pistol gold at the 2012 London Games and will be favourite to claim his fifth Olympic gold and set the benchmark even higher.

VINCENT HANCOCK (UNITED STATES)

The 32-year-old, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, will once again lead the American challenge in the shotgun range.

FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's Olena Kostevych participates in the women's 25m Pistol shooting qualification competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich in southeast London August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo

Hancock won his first World Championship title at the age of 16 and shot a perfect score in the final of the 2012 London Games to defend the title he had won in Beijing four years ago.

A podium finish eluded him in Rio but he has looked in vintage form during qualifying for Tokyo.

OLENA KOSTEVYCH (UKRAINE)

FILE PHOTO: Manu Bhaker of India competes in the Shooting 10m Air Pistol Mixed International Team Quarter-final at the Shooting Range, Tecnopolis Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 12, 2018. Lukas Schulze for OIS/IOC/Handout via REUTERS

The Ukrainian is a two-time world champion who won the 10m pistol gold at Athens in 2004 and a couple of bronze medals at the 2012 London Games.

The 36-year-old is back in action after giving birth to her daughter Sofia in 2017 and will compete in the 10m and 25m pistol in Tokyo.

MANU BHAKER (INDIA)

FILE PHOTO: Georgian sports shooter Nino Salukvadze is seen at her home in Tbilisi, March 16, 2012. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

The Indian teenager could prove a thorn in Kostevych's side in Tokyo. Bhaker, a youth Olympic gold medallist, has been in sterling form in recent times, particularly dominating the mixed team events, winning all four World Cup series titles in 2019.

NINO SALUKVADZE (GEORGIA)

The Georgian, 52, will enter the record books when she becomes the first female athlete to compete in nine Olympics.

Winner of the 25m pistol gold for the Soviet Union at the 1988 Seoul Games, the 52-year-old has built her own shooting range in her basement with the help of her son and is ready to shine in Tokyo.

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Toby Davis)

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