Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Chinese women eyeing shoot-out with India for first gold medal of Games

Yang and Wang face stiff competition against world number one Indian Valarivan at 10m air rifle opener

India tipped to win big across all disciplines but may get a surprise from new world record-breaker Xiong

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Wang Luyao of the Chinese shooting team at a training session at the Asaka Shooting Range in Tokyo, Japanin July. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 7:36pm, 23 Jul 2021Updated: 7:35pm, 23 Jul 2021

China could claim its first Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle final on Saturday – but will have to upset shooting rivals India.

Young duo Yang Qian and Wang Luyao, who Chinese media gushed over in the lead-up for their good looks, are tasked with trying to topple world number one and favourite Elavenil Valarivan.

The 21-year-old Yang is an Asian Championships winner, national gold medallist and student at the renowned Tsinghua University in Beijing. Wang, 23, a former Asian Junior Championships winner and World Cup silver medallist, is ranked 18th in the world.

Valarivan, who leads the world number two by a staggering 311 points after a stellar season, will be making her Olympic debut. The 21-year-old is touted to comfortably make the senior jump after dominating the junior circuit and having won two World Cup golds in 2019.

China’s Yang Qian in a shooting training session at the Asaka Shooting Range in Tokyo in July. Photo: Xinhua

Among the 19 Chinese athletes competing in the pistol or rifle events, 25m pistol expert Xiong Yaxuan is likely the best medal prospect after setting a new world record at the Chinese Olympic qualifiers in March. The 24-year-old debutant’s new record of 44 hits beat the previous record set two years ago by four.

Despite not being satisfied with his qualification performance, men’s 25m pistol representative Li Yuehong will likewise be looking for a medal after winning a bronze at the Rio 2016 Games.