Larsson, who had to settle for bronze at the ISSF World Shotgun Championship at Lake Garda behind Olympic champion Diana Bacosi, but with the Italian absent in Finland the door is open for the Swede to challenge for gold.

There will be 407 athletes from 66 nations competing at the eight-day event at Hälvälä Sport Shooting Center.

China's Wei Meng took silver in Italy and will be a main threat to Larsson when the skeet final is contested next Wednesday (August 21).

Tomáš Nýdrle of the Czech Republic struck gold in the men's skeet at the World Championships and will seek to take World Cup honours.

Nýdrle also won silver at the European Games in Minsk in June.

China's Deng Weiyun won the women's trap competition at the World Cup event in Changwon in South Korea in May.

She defeated compatriot Wang Xiaojing in the final and another fierce contest is expected when the duo line-up for the qualification rounds tomorrow.

Action will begin tomorrow with the qualification rounds for the men's and women's trap competitions.

The competition will finish on Thursday (August 22) with the men's skeet final.