China wins first gold medal at Paris Olympics
CHATEAUROUX, France — China won its first gold medal at the Paris Olympics, but the country’s athletes never came close to Paris.
At the Olympic Shooting Range in Chateauroux, a three-hour drive from Paris, Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao were aiming for the gold medal in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event on Saturday morning.
In the gold medal showdown against South Korea’s Keum Ji-hyun and Park Ha-jun, Hwang and Mori jumped out to an early four-point lead and maintained that lead to win 16-12.
“My main feeling is just being happy. The competition was quite tough but it helps a lot that I was able to perform my personal best,” Schenn said.
The joy of Huang, 17, and Sheng, 19, was initially subdued, in contrast to their coach’s animated demeanor, but when bronze medallist Islam Satpayev took a selfie with the other medallists, the pair broke out into smiles on the podium and Sheng gave a thumbs up in celebration.
China also won in Tokyo three years ago, with Yang Qian and Yang Haoran winning gold medals as team air rifle shooting made its Olympic debut. Yang Qian won her first gold medal at the Games, but in the individual 10-meter air rifle event. Due to anti-pandemic restrictions in place at the time, Yang Qian had to wear a mask to accept her medal.
Earlier on Saturday, Kazakhstan’s Alexandra Le and Satpayev defeated Germany’s Anna Jansen and Maximilian Ulbrich 17-5 to win the bronze medal, becoming the tournament’s first medalists.
“It feels perfect. It was my first (Olympic) competition and I managed to get third place so it’s perfect,” Satpayev said.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
