Tokyo Olympics: China shooter Yang Qian wins first gold medal of 2020 Games – ‘gave my best for the motherland’
- The 21-year-old from Ningbo beats Russia’s Anastasiia Galashina and Switzerland’s Nina Christen in the women’s 10m air rifle event
- Yang is making her debut in the Olympics, having started shooting when she was 10 years old
China celebrated the first-ever Summer Games gold medal won in an odd-numbered year on Saturday as 21-year-old shooter Yang Qian claimed top honours in the women’s 10m, air rifle competition.
The Ningbo native set an Olympic record score of 251.8, edging ahead of Russian Anastasiia Galashina (251.1) in a tense final round, with Switzerland’s Nina Christen (230.6) claiming the bronze.
“The last two shots I tried to control my emotions as much as possible and do well,” Yang was quoted by Sohu as saying. “Adjust, take a deep breath and stay as stable as possible.
“The last shot I was very nervous and held back for too long. I thought I lost and couldn’t catch up. I am quite satisfied with the finals. I was able to focus on my performance and not worry about the result.
“It is better to be myself. My mental strength is better and I coped well. I am very happy to get the first gold and to give my best for the motherland.”