The national shooting association of Thailand has pinned its hopes on pistol specialists Jakkrit Panichpatikum and Tanyaporn Prucksakorn to make a big bang in the Beijing Olympics.

Their coach Peera Piromrat said the two are expected to make it to the finals, judging by their recent performances in World Cup meets and practice results.

"The two shooters have shown steady improvement in their weekly tests. Jakkrit scored 584, which is the world's third best in the men's 10m and Tanya fired 586 in the 25m which is also amazing," Peera was quoted by Wednesday's Daily Xpress newspaper as saying.

Jakkrit, a former World Cup bronze medalist, fired 560 to take the 15th position in the men's 50m pistol in April's World Cup series in Beijing and shot 578 to finish 20th in the 10m category in the Milan meet last month.

The 35-year-old, trained by his father and former national shooter Manit, is currently world number 23 in the 10m and number 27 in the 50m in the rankings.

But all eyes will be on teen sensation Tanyaporn who produced two top-eight finishes in World Cup meets this year.

The 18-year- old, ranked 24th in the world, scored 583 to reach the 25m final in Beijing and shot 386 to reach the 10m final in Milan.

The four-member national team is the biggest the country has ever sent to the Olympics.

Sasithorn Hongprasert and Thanyalak Chotiphaibunsin, two 2006 Asian Games gold medalists, will also go into action in the women's 10m air rifle and 50m rifle events.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2008)