A total of 682 shooters from 83 countries and regions will participate in the World Shooting Championships in Shotgun, scheduled from September 1 to 10 in Nicosia, Cyprus.

 

The athletes will compete for five quotas for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, each for men's trap, men's skeet, men's double trap, women's trap, and women's skeet.

 

General Secretary of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Horst Schreiber expressed on Thursday his satisfaction over the new record of participation.

 

He told a press conference here that he did not expect such a large turnout for the championships and noted that ISSF is very satisfied with the registrations.

 

Demetris Lordos, President of the Cyprus Shooting Federation, said the Federation and the Organizing Committee of the games would do everything possible to secure a successful event.

 

Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos will officially open the games on September 2, said Lordos.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2007)