by Sportswriters Wang Meng and Niu Mengtong

Ningbo, CHINA, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- With the 2025 ISSF World Cup's final leg ongoing in Ningbo, International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) president Luciano Rossi praised China's growing role in the sport, highlighting both its organizational standards and its long-term investment in young talent in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Thursday.

"The World Cup in Ningbo is really great. The Ningbo Olympic Center and the other complexes are working very well," Rossi said. "We have the best athletes from 43 different countries (and regions). All the athletes are happy with the hospitality. This is fantastic, because the spirit of China is respect and working together."

He stressed that China's contribution extends beyond staging competitions. A recent visit to the Chinese Shooting College, he said, left him impressed with the country's commitment to youth development.

"It's a very important program that the Chinese Association is working on," he noted. "China offered a big chance to show what the real story of shooting is, not only the passion but also the safety, especially for the young athletes."

Rossi welcomed the global trend of younger athletes rising to prominence in the sport. "The ages go down and down (during the past Olympics). This is very good," he said. "Not only China, but also many other countries (and regions) are moving in the same direction. This attraction for the young generation is our goal. And we are doing our best."

Looking ahead, he pointed to a series of major events that will further strengthen ISSF's ties with China. "Next year in Hangzhou, you will have the World Cup for rifle, pistol, and shotgun. In 2027 in Hangzhou, you will have the World Cup for the shotgun, and in Sichuan you will have a junior World Championship for rifle and pistol," Rossi said. "This is also very important. It is a strong message showing that the ISSF and China are working in a good direction."

Rossi also reflected on lessons from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where shooting events were staged in Chateauroux, about 270 kilometers from Paris. He praised the overall spirit of the competition. "The shooting family was good and the Olympic was very good," he said, adding that then-International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach had been satisfied with the sport's performance during the Games.

Promising "it will be the last time" that shooting is "removed from the Olympic city," the Italian highlighted ISSF's efforts for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. "We stay in the city of LA, in the beautiful convention center. It's in the heart of the Olympics. This is very important for us," Rossi said. "We have good news: they don't reduce the number of athletes for the qualification. We have 340 athletes for 15 events."

Still, Rossi's ambitions reach beyond Los Angeles. "The dream is to organize an open event for the first medal," he said. "We insist for the next Olympics in Brisbane."

That dream, he added, was inspired by history. He recalled meeting China's former Olympic shotgun champion Zhang Shan in Ningbo just two days earlier. "She won in Barcelona in the competition against the men. She shot 223-I was there. It was quite emotional for me," Rossi said.

The ISSF president also pointed to future reforms in rifle clothing and competition formats designed to improve fairness and excitement. "This matter was expected for many years," he explained. "My strategy was that we were trying to change a little bit. I don't want revolution."

"Another matter that is not so easy to solve is to reduce the time, create emotion, but the final must be 30 or 35 minutes, not too long," he added.

He emphasized that such changes will be made collectively, not unilaterally. "It's not my own decision, but from the three committees: the rifle committee, the technical committee, and the athletes committee. We are working together," he said.

Rossi concluded with confidence in the sport's direction. "For us, it's not so easy to have the solutions, but we are open to the discussion," he said. "I think that this approach is correct." ■