Today, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) announced an updated Olympic ranking of athletes. According to the results, Irina Yunusmetova became the owner of a license to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris. According to the press service of the Directorate for the Development of Sports, the Kazakh athlete received a license in pistol shooting from 10 meters, El.kz reports.
"We knew that we would get this quota. Irina took part in all stages of the World Cup and showed stable results, reaching the finals several times. Her main rival in the rating, the representative of Austria, received a license in shooting from a small-caliber pistol, and Irina got a ticket in shooting from an air pistol. The quota issued through the rating is nominal, which means that no athlete other than Irina Yunusmetova can participate in this exercise. This qualifying round for the Olympics was remembered for a historical indicator: previously Kazakhstan did not have 6 licenses in bullet shooting," said Olga Dovgun, head coach of the national team,
For the Shooting Sport Federation of Kazakhstan, this license was the ninth. Earlier, Islam Satpayev, Konstantin Malinovsky, Alexandra Le, Arina Altukhova and Nikita Chiryukin (shooting), as well as Assem Orynbay, Eduard Eschenko and Maria Dmitrienko (trap shooting) won tickets to Paris. It should be noted that the quotas of Assem Orynbay and Irina Yunusmetova are nominal, while the rest are issued to the Federation.
Such a significant number of licenses and a high level of training of Kazakh shooters indicate the growing potential and strengthening of the country's position in the international sports community. For the first time, six Kazakh shooters will represent their country at the Olympics.