Mumbai: Post the Olympic Games, finals of shooting events will undergo a sea change with a lot of summit clashes resembling the duel witnessed when Indian army marksman Vijay Kumar dramatically clinched the silver medal in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event in London.
"After firing an initial series of shots, the lowest ranked finalists are progressively eliminated until two athletes remain to fight for the gold medal," said the sport's world body ISSF in its 'Summary of Changes in 2013-2016 ISSF Rules'.
While retaining the same qualification rules, ISSF has decided that qualification scores would no longer be carried forward into the finals.
"Almost all sports have finals that begin as new contests. Shooting long had difficulties in explaining why some athletes in its finals start with advantages," the ISSF explained why it had decided to do away with carrying forward points from the qualifications.
"Since the new shooting finals will start at zero, the number of shots in finals was increased to ensure that they are a true test of skill," it said.
"The ISSF Administrative Council has approved many changes in its finals rules for Olympic events to go into effect in 2013. Detailed rules for these finals have been drafted and will be presented to the Administrative Council for approval at its meeting in November 2012," ISSF said.
Rule changes were proposed by the ISSF Section Committees, approved by the ISSF Technical Committee and given final nod by the Council, in accordance with the ISSF Constitution after the London Games.
"Detailed rules for finals in Olympic events as well as a few additional rules will be approved by the Council in November 2012," the ISSF said.
Giving reasons for changing the format of the finals after a quarter century, ISSF said all Olympic sports today must become more dynamic to attract more fans and provide great shows for youth, spectators, television and the media.
"The current shooting finals began in 1986; they represented a big step forward at that time, but 26 years of experience has demonstrated that many improvements are possible.
"During the last three years, many proposals and ideas for new finals were developed and tested by ISSF section committees, as well as its technical, athletes and coaches committees. The best of these ideas are now in the new finals rules," according to the world shooting body.
"The ideas that proved to be most successful in ISSF tests as well as for other sports or that were recommended by television and media experts are starting all athletes who qualify for the final at zero, using eliminations to add drama throughout the final, deciding the medals with two-person duels and using scoring systems that spectators can react to instantly," it added.
"Changes made in the Rapid-Fire Pistol finals for 2011, with finalists starting at zero, hit-miss scoring, eliminations and gold medal duels have been especially exciting and successful. The success of these ideas made them a model for the new 2013 finals," it explained further.
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