Cuban shooter Leuris Pupo, London 2012 Olympic titleholder, won the bronze medal this Saturday in the 25-meter fast pistol contest at the Granada Grand Prix, Spain, where he made his first competitive appearance in nine months.
The Holguin native was third in the qualifying round with 579 points (shots of 286 and 293), only surpassed by the South Koreans Jong-Ho Song (588) and Jaekyoon Lee (587). This result allowed him to advance to the group round, in which he finished with 15 units, enough to sneak into the medal discussion.
In the final against the two Asian competitors and Poland’s Oskar Miliwek, Pupo hit 14 of his first 20 shots to take the podium, while the European was eliminated. Afterwards Pupo could not do much against the South Koreans and was in bronze, behind Jong-Ho Song, gold with 33 points, and Jaekyoon Lee, silver with 31.
The result is more than satisfactory for Pupo considering that he has not competed since the Tokyo Olympics, where he won the silver medal. To add insult to injury, the West Indian gunslinger hasn’t even been able to train with ammunition for the past few months, which makes his placement in the Spanish tournament that much more valuable.
Two other Cubans, Jorge Félix Álvarez and Alejandro Jesús Delgado, participated in the rapid pistol event in Granada, who advanced to the group round, but were unable to be included in the discussion of the medals. Álvarez, like Pupo, had not competed since the Tokyo Games, while Delgado experienced his debut in the international arena.
This contest serves as preparation for Cuban shooters for the qualifier for the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador 2023, which will be held next June.
