Western Australia’s Anton Zappelli claimed silver in the Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 at the 7th World Para Sport Shooting Championships at the Sydney International Shooting Centre, October 12.
Zappelli finished with 252.9 points, just 0.3 points behind gold medallist Matt Skelhon of Great Britain, while Yan Taping (232.1) earned bronze.
In a high-quality final, the lead changes multiple times with Zappelli in the gold medal position during the middle of the competition, through a strong finish from Skelhon saw him narrowly miss the gold.
“I was shooting really well in training and hoping for a top three finish, but last Friday my rifle went out of tune. And the issues started again in training yesterday, so my expectations were not all that high,” said Zappelli.
“However, it managed to hold together tonight, and I was very surprised with the result given the problems I was having,” said Zappelli. “The silver medal hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”
Australian Para Shooting National Team Manager, Kurt Olsen, was pleased with Zappelli’s result.
“Anton shot really well and it is a great start to our campaign.”
