The lead before the closing pair
Before the final two shots of the men’s 10m air rifle final in Doha, Sheng Lihao had 232.7 points and Ma Sihan 231.8. Sheng added 21.4 with his remaining shots; Ma added 21.3. The final totals were 254.1 and 253.1. With such similar closing contributions, the decisive comparison begins before those last two shots. Sheng entered that phase with the lead already in place.[1]
That advantage did not remain with the same shooter throughout the final. Sheng opened with 53.1 points from five shots against Ma’s 52.6. After ten shots they were level on 105.7. Later cumulative totals put Ma on 126.9 and Sheng on 126.3. The shooter who led at the opening checkpoint was now behind. Within the same final at the same distance, successive contributions had changed the order.[1]
Compare the same checkpoint
At the next listed checkpoint, Sheng had 148.0 and Ma 147.9, returning the lead to Sheng. The totals of 232.7 and 231.8 before the final two shots also placed him ahead. This sequence shows where the champion’s advantage existed without assigning the entire outcome to a closing flourish. Ma’s lead at 126.9 remains part of the contest. An account built only around the eventual winner would miss that change of order.[1]
Miran Maričić finished third on 229.9. At the ten-shot checkpoint where Sheng and Ma shared 105.7, Maričić had 104.8. Comparing totals from the same checkpoint describes the race at that moment; comparing totals reached at different finishing stages answers the separate question of final position. Sheng’s title rests on 254.1 points. The distinctive path to that score includes a tie, a period behind Ma, a recovered lead and an advantage already established before the closing pair of shots.[1]