Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova claimed top honours in the R3 10m air rifle prone mixed SH1 event on the opening day of the IPC Shooting World Cup in Szczecin in Poland ©IPC Shooting/Facebook

Slovakia’s Veronika Vadovicova claimed top honours in the R3 10 metres air rifle prone mixed SH1 event on the opening day of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Shooting World Cup in Szczecin in Poland.

The world and European champion scored a total of 211.4 points to finish ahead of Germany’s Natascha Hiltrop, second with 210.0, and Russia’s Tatiana Ryabchenko, third with 188.7.

"Feelings are very good, it's a joy when your hard training is converted into success," said Vadovicova, who holds the world record in the event. 

"Each medal is made difficult, and [the gold comes from] hard work and a bit of luck."

In the P2 10m air pistol women SH1 event, Ukraine's Iryna Liakhu achieved first place with 190.6 points, followed by Russia's Natalia Dalekova with 189.5 and Macedonia's Olivera Nakovska-Bikova with 170.5. 

World number one Olga Kovalchuk of Ukraine had to settle for fourth place with 150.9 points.

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Russia took gold in the R3 10m air rifle prone mixed SH1 team event ©IPC Shooting/Facebook

Russia took gold in the R3 10m air rifle prone mixed SH1 team event as Ryabchenko combined with team-mates Sergey Nochevnoy and Svetlana Dementyeva for 1,887.5 points.

South Korea's Haksun Kim, Youngsik Youn and Jaewoong Won came second with 1,870.1 points, while Waldemar Andruszkiewicz, Tadeusz Sondej and Tadeusz Burski helped host nation Poland come third with 1,869.0. 

The competition in Szczecin provides the final chance for athletes to shoot at a World Cup ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Although Rio 2016 quota places have already been decided, athletes are looking to impress their national coaches as they look to secure their spots at the Paralympics, where competition will take place from September 8 to 14.