PUTIAN, China, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The 2019 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Final Rifle/Pistol opened in the southern Chinese city of Putian on Monday, as ISSF secretary general Alexander Ratner praised organizers' efforts and called this year's event unique in the competition's history.
"By the quality of the participants, this World Cup Final is very unique in the history of those competitions," noted Ratner. "Thanks to the organizers we managed to increase the number of participants."
According to the organizing committee, 115 top rifle and pistol shooters from 34 countries and regions will compete for 10 gold medals across the four-day competition, with eight individual events and two mixed team events.
"It is the first time that 10-meter air rifle mixed team and 10-meter air pistol mixed team - our new Olympic events - are included in the program in the format that will be used at the 2020 Tokyo Games," added Ratner.
The ISSF World Cup Final, along with the Olympics and the ISSF World Championships, is regarded as one of the world's three major shooting competitions.
The first two events of the tournament - the men's and women's 50-meter rifle three positions - take place on Tuesday.