Incheon, South Korea: The UAE’s first and so far only medallist at the Incheon Asian Games, Shaikh Juma Bin Dalmouk Al Maktoum, insists he won’t relax after winning double trap bronze and wants to take the next step on the world stage.

Hours after clinching third place ahead of Qatar’s Rashid Al Athba on Thursday, Shaikh Juma had turned his attention to the ISSF World Cup events held around the globe throughout the shooting season.

Each World Cup competition offers shooters the chance to book a place at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Shaikh Juma qualified to the 2012 London Games via that route after winning at the final event in Doha.

The UAE shooter now wants to take the next step in his sport by trying to be among the top-level double trap shooters, hoping qualification for Rio 2016 will come automatically.

“I don’t think about Rio and that I need to go and book my spot. I secured a card from Doha for London, but I was nowhere in the World Cup rankings, and this to me is far more important,” Shaikh Juma told Gulf News before departing for Dubai in the early hours of Friday.

“So my aim this time is to reach the finals of the World Cups that I participate in. That would mean I have the level to be among the best in my discipline. Once you are there among the leaders, then success will come automatically. I can think about the Rio Olympics later.”

Despite winning silver at the Guangzhou Asiad four years ago, Shaikh Juma was pleased with bronze in Incheon.

“To start with, I was happy just being in the final as it showed that I have the level and the ranking to be among the top shooters in Asia. But my aim is definitely to be at the same position at the World Cups and that is the goal for the future, when the season starts early next year,” he said.

“There was one year [2011] that I shot at all the World Cups and I was in the top-10, but not in the finals. So this time I want to take the next step and be in the finals, and for me that would be the next thing to focus on.

“One step at a time is going to be my strategy.”

But for the time being the next step for the UAE shooter will be a well-deserved three-week rest, after which he intends to start training for the Asian Shooting Championships, which will be held in November in Al Ain. The regional competition will be followed by a two-month break, with the next season beginning in early February with the ISSF World Cup events.