Chinese shooter Yang Qian wins first gold of Tokyo 2020 in women's 10m air rifle

Yang Qian of China poses during the awarding ceremony after the Tokyo 2020 women's 10m air rifle final in Tokyo, Japan, July 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

TOKYO, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese young gun Yang Qian claimed the first gold of the Tokyo Olympics with a victory in women's 10m air rifle here on Saturday.

Russian markswoman Anastasiia Galashina took the silver and Nina Christen of Switzerland bagged the bronze.

Yang, who was ranked sixth in the qualification, scored 251.8 points in the final, beating Galashina's 251.1 points to set off Team China to a fine start at the postponed Tokyo games.

Trailing by a mere 0.1 point ahead of the two final shots, Yang saw the gap widened despite a 10.7-point shot, as her rival made an impressive 10.8.

However, when it came to the last shot that would define the eventual champion, Galashina surprisingly shot for 8.9 points, and conceded the Olympic title to Yang, who had a sub-par 9.8. Enditem