The 2026 ISSF World Championships at the Lusail Shooting Complex in Doha, Qatar, concluded its opening day of skeet qualification with six competitors maintaining a perfect score.
In the men’s competition, Tammaro Cassandro of the Carabinieri and Erik Pittini of the Fiamme Oro emerged as the top-performing Italian athletes. Both shooters finished the day with 49/50, trailing only the six leaders who hit every target. Those currently tied for the lead are Jesper Hansen (Denmark), Eetu Kallioinen (Finland), Kirill Makarov (competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete), Azmy Mehelba (Egypt), Nicolas Pacheco Espinosa (Peru), and Jiang Yang (China). Another Italian, Gabriele Rossetti of the Fiamme Oro, finished the day further back with a score of 47/50.
Three Athletes Finish First Day with Perfect Records
The women’s qualification round saw three athletes finish the first day with a perfect record: host nation representative Reem Al-Sharshani, China’s Chaoyu Jiang, and Great Britain’s Amber Rutter. The Italian team followed closely, with Martina Bartolomei of the Aeronautica Militare and Diana Bacosi of the Esercito both recording 48/50. Sara Bongini of the Fiamme Oro recorded a 47/50 as she works to recover ground in the coming stages.
Schedule for Remaining Qualification and Finals
The competition at the Lusail Shooting Complex continues on Thursday, November 5, with participants facing 50 additional targets to determine their standings. The final phase of the qualification, consisting of the last 25 targets, will take place on Friday, November 6. Following the conclusion of the qualification rounds, the top eight athletes in both the men’s and women’s categories will advance to the finals. These final rounds will be broadcast live on Tiro a Volo TV starting at 11:30 a.m. Italian time.
The current standings for the Italian squad are overseen by Technical Director Luigi Agostino Lodde, who leads a team including Cassandro, Pittini, Rossetti, Bacosi, Bartolomei, and Bongini.
