Photo courtesy of Lu Shao-chuan (center)

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) Taiwanese sport shooter Lu Shao-chuan (呂紹全) achieved a fifth-place score of 185.5 in the 10-meter air rifle competition at the Asian Shooting Championships Tuesday, earning him a spot in the 2020 Olympics.

He will be the first Taiwanese male ever to compete in the category.

The championships, which are being held Nov. 3-14 in Doha, Qatar, serve as one of the sport's qualifying events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

During the qualifying round on Tuesday morning, Lu's score of 626.3 out of a maximum 654 placed him sixth among the 59 competitors.

Later in the day, he competed in the final round, which uses a different format, with a maximum score of 261.6.

After tallying the fifth-place 185.5 and learning that he had qualified for the Olympics, Lu called the feeling "unreal."

His Olympic qualification is the first for a male Taiwanese air rifle shooter since 1972, when five-time Olympian Wu Tao-yan (吳道源) last competed in the Munich games.

The 10-meter air rifle category was officially added to the Olympic program in 1984.

During last year's Asian Games, Lu partnered with Taiwanese female shooter Lin Ying-shin (林穎欣) to claim the gold medal in the mixed 10-meter air rifle event.

After Lin qualified for the 2020 Olympics earlier this year, Lu said that he felt "big pressure" to do the same.

The shooting season will continue later in November with the World Cup Finals held in Fujian, China, where Lu said he hopes to further refine both the mental and technical aspects of his game, in order to be in top form before next year's Olympics.

(By Lung Po-an and Matthew Mazzetta)
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