Nino Khutsiberidze takes Paris shooting sport Grand Prix gold

Teenage shooter Nino Khutsiberidze claimed gold medal at the Paris Grand Prix competition among juniors on Thursday, with two more female competitors from Georgia finishing in qualifying positions at the contest.

Khutsiberidze earned second spot in an earlier round for reaching the final stage of the 9th edition of the Paris tournament, before finishing first in the ultimate stage.

The young athlete scored 235.2 points to take the top spot of the podium, ahead of local favourite Camille Jedrzeweski and Spain’s Ana Lopez Gallero.

The three competitors comprised the podium in the air pistol junior section of the Grand Prix, while two other members of the Georgia’s junior female team also scored results in the French capital.

Mariam Kobulashvili marked her debut in the team with a sixth-place finish, while Lizi Kiladze was eight. The three Georgian shooters competed against counterparts from France and Spain in the section.

Akaki Mosulishvili, the only representative of Georgia in the male junior section, was third in the qualifiers and eventually finished fourth.

Among senior shooters, Georgia’s Olympic, World and European champion Nino Salukvadze was 12th in the qualifying stage.

Her son Tsotne Machavariani took eight place among men after ending the fourth series of the qualifying round with a perfect 100 points. Levan Kadagidze, the other member of the senior men’s team, was 13th.

The Paris Grand Prix is held by the International Shooting Sport Federation and will close in the capital on Saturday.