bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Hoang Xuan Vinh may have just ended Vietnam’s six-decade wait for a first Olympic gold medal on Saturday but he wasn’t about to make a song and dance about his historic feat.
The 41-year-old military officer finally struck the Olympic bullseye for Vietnam to deny Brazil an opening day title at the Rio Games.
Vinh fell into the arms of his coaches after his near-perfect final shot in the men’s 10m air pistol.
He duelled with Sao Paulo-born Felipe Almeida Wu who had taken the lead after the penultimate round.
WATCH: Golden moments on Day 1 at Rio Olympics 


The Vietnamese history-maker claimed the title with a total points haul of 202.5. Crowd favourite Wu, almost 20 years his junior, took silver only .3 adrift.
If Vinh was feeling as proud as punch at finally ending a quest for his country that first began in Helsinki in 1952, he wasn’t about to show it.
“I’m very lucky, it’s the first gold medal in Vietnam’s history, I feel very lucky, thank you everybody,” he said at a press conference.
“Making this gold medal is a life memory, never forget this. Because (it is the) first time making a gold medal for Vietnam.”
Wu, Brazil’s first Olympic shooting medallist since 1920, praised his uplifting home support and said he hoped his performance would boost his sport’s popularity in football-mad Brazil.
Vivian Kong makes history for Hong Kong as she wins team’s first-ever Olympics fencing match
On winning the 2016 hosts’ first medal of these Games, he added: “There are no words to describe how happy I am. We work very hard, and everything is worth the pain. Pain on my shoulder, pain in my back, but I will forget about all this pain now.”
“It is just perfect. I hope that the sport of shooting becomes more popular in Brazil. I don’t know how, but I hope people get interested for this sport and start to practise, and I think that is a good thing, to win a medal. I hope it will be good for shooting.”
China’s Sun scorched over doping record after he cruises into 400m freestyle final
Bronze went to Pang Wei, while South Korean defending champion Jin Jongoh trailed in fifth.
Jin had his head in his hands walking off after failing to replicate his heroics at London 2012.
He also won 50m pistol gold four years ago and will be hoping to turn around his form when he defends that title later in the competition.
The first of the eight finalists to be knocked out was the Nepalese-born Indian Jitu Rai.
Russia’s representative Vladimir Gontcharov was next for the chop, followed by Italy’s Giuseppe Giordano, Jin, and Juray Tuzinsky.
That left the stage clear for the three-cornered climax. Pang’s exit setting up a tense face off between the two military men.
Wu had his partisan fans leaping out of their seats when he hit the front, but Vinh fired his 20th and final shot true and straight to nail it in the style of a worthy successor to Jin.
Vinh recounted: “The Brazilian shooter was very fast and stronger, but I think only ‘try, try, try’. On the last shot I don’t think gold or silver. I think only try.”


Tsunami-hit Tonga’s oiled-up Olympic flag bearer Pita Taufatofua raises over US$340,000 in disaster aid

Former Chinese volleyball star Wei Qiuyue donates Olympic gold medal to country’s sports museum

Liu Xiaotong retires: Chinese Olympic volleyball champion to become a coach, saying ‘the thing I missed most was my passion’

Rio 2016 race walk champion Liu Hong retires after fourth place in National Games

Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Modest Hoang Xuan Vinh makes history for Vietnam as he strikes gold in shooting

Gold medal winner Hoang Xuan Vinh of Vietnam receives his gold medal in Rio. Photo: AP

2016 Rio Olympics - Shooting - Final - Men's 10m Air Pistol Finals - Olympic Shooting Centre - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 06/08/2016. The pistol of Hoang Xuan Vinh (VIE) of Vietnam is seen in the the finals. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

Hoang Xuan Vinh of Vietnam, center, sings along with the Vietnamese national anthem after receiving the gold medal during the victory ceremony for the men's 10-meter air pistol event at Olympic Shooting Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

2016 Rio Olympics - Shooting - Victory Ceremony - Men's 10m Air Pistol Victory Ceremony - Olympic Shooting Centre - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 06/08/2016. (L-R) Felipe Wu (BRA) of Brazil, Hoang Xuan Vinh (VIE) of Vietnam and Pang Wei (CHN) of China (PRC) pose with their medals. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

Sport

Other Sport

Vinh ended Vietnam’s six-decade wait for a first Olympic gold medal on Saturday


Modest Hoang Xuan Vinh makes history for Vietnam as he strikes gold in shooting

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Vinh ended Vietnam’s six-decade wait for a first Olympic gold medal on Saturday

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}WATCH: Golden moments on Day 1 at Rio Olympics

Vinh ended Vietnam’s six-decade wait for a first Olympic gold medal on Saturday

WATCH: Golden moments on Day 1 at Rio Olympics