The stronger finish
Türkiye’s final team series in the men’s 10 metre air pistol event was 289 points. South Korea scored 288 in the same series and Uzbekistan 285. Read in isolation, this part of the Doha competition puts Türkiye ahead of both opponents. The overall standings place Korea second, Uzbekistan third and Türkiye fourth. The explanation lies outside the last series: Türkiye reached 1735 points, while both rivals finished on 1738. Scoring more than an opponent at the end did not erase the margin accumulated earlier. The closing series and the whole competition therefore give different orders.[1]
İsmail Keleş’s 582, Buğra Selimzade’s 581 and Yusuf Dikeç’s 572 combined to form Türkiye’s total. Korea had 581 from So Seung Seob, 579 from Choe Boram and 578 from Park Jeongyi. Uzbekistan’s three totals were 580, 579 and 579. Türkiye’s highest individual score exceeded the highest individual score on either rival team. Pairing the Turkish and Korean shooters in descending order of their totals puts Keleş one point ahead of So and Selimzade two ahead of Choe. Dikeç is six points behind Park. The combined three-point advantage in the first two entries is half the six-point gap in the third. Team rank rests on all three totals together.[1]
The deficit after five series
Subtracting the last series from the overall totals gives Türkiye 1446 points after five series, Korea 1450 and Uzbekistan 1453. Türkiye entered the final series four points behind Korea and seven behind Uzbekistan. Gaining one point against Korea and four against Uzbekistan reduced both gaps to three. The recovery against Uzbekistan was greater, but so was the starting deficit. Two different paths ended with the same three-point margin. Türkiye’s six series totals were 289, 290, 291, 287, 289 and 289. Within the first five series, the lowest total was 287 in the fourth and the highest was 291 in the third.[1]
Above them, China won on 1755 points, twenty ahead of Türkiye. Immediately below, Ukraine finished on 1734 and Italy on 1733. The three-point distance to third place belongs alongside the one-point advantage over fifth. Fourth place contains both proximity to the medal positions and a narrow margin over the next team. My measure of this result is those two neighbouring gaps rather than one strong series in isolation. The 289-point finish retains its value; its contribution becomes clear through the amount of ground recovered and the total of the team left just behind.[1]