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Athens' ISSF World Cup 2004 |
There is one particularly heart rending shot (awc2004_p047.jpg), which I post with no disrespect meant. Alexander Danilov (Israel) was doing very well in his match and was taking his time. It looked like he was guaranteed a slot in the finals. Almost done, he raised his pistol and settled into his stance. Then something went terribly wrong. On his 60th competition shot, Danilov popped a "7" high and right at 1 o'clock. Realising the magnitude of his error, Alexander slumped forward atop his bench, head in hands and remained there for some time.
As soon as the shot registered on the scoreboard above his head, the gathered crowd let out a collective sigh. We all understood that this shooter, ranked 30th in the world, was so close to a great achievement. In an instant, it slipped out of his grasp. As it turned out, Danilov finished off tied for 8th place with a score of 581, but lost the final's position on the countback.
I included this picture, not to be cruel, but to capture a moment, that we have all felt, when something in our matches goes wrong.
