World's top shooters in Rio for Olympic test event

Brazilian World Cup champion Felipe Wu will be among hundreds of the world's best shooters at the sport's official Rio 2016 Olympic test event starting on Saturday.

The April 16-24 competition at the Olympic shooting centre in Deodoro also serves as the third stage of the ISSF World Cup series, reports Xinhua.

Athletes from 88 countries will be present at the event, including around 50 world and Olympic champions, according to Rio2016.com.

Wu will be one of the star attractions after his gold in the 10m air pistol at the ISSF rifle and pistol World Cup in Bangkok last month.

The 23-year-old, who has already qualified for the Olympics, also won gold at the last year's Pan American Games in Toronto.

"The test event is a very important part of the preparation for Rio 2016 as the best shooters in the world will be here," said Ricardo Brenck, vice president of the Brazilian shooting confederation. "The medal winners in the Olympic Games will be competing in Deodoro."

Organisers say the test event will provide a chance to trial competition areas, technology, public address systems, security and venue design issues.

Some 390 shooters will compete at the Olympic Games in August, which will include nine events for men and six for women.