Olympics 2024, shooting: China secure 1st gold medal in Paris after Korea thriller

China’s Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao secured the first gold medal of the Paris 2024 Olympics in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event on Saturday. Keum Ji-hyeon and Park Ha-jun of South Korea took home the silver, while Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev of Kazakhstan claimed the bronze.

Three years after Yang Qian and Yang Haoran won the event at the Tokyo Olympics, Huang and Sheng ensured that China continued its dominance in this discipline. They entered the gold medal match after leading the qualifying round at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, edging out their South Korean competitors.

The final, however, was far from straightforward. Korea had taken the lead in the first round but then China would win 4 out of the next 5 shots to take a big lead. By the end of 11 shots, the lead was firmly in the favour of the Chinese duo who had surged to a 14-8 lead. But Keum and Park mounted a comeback, closing the gap to 14-12. Ultimately, Huang and Sheng held their nerve to win 16-12, clinching the gold medal.

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In the bronze medal match, Le and Satpayev delivered Kazakhstan’s first medal of the Paris Games with a commanding 17-5 victory over the German pair, Anna Janssen and Maximilian Ulbrich. This was the first medal win of the opening day.

Kazakh shooters Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev demonstrated remarkable precision and composure from the start in their match. The pair took an early lead, winning the first round 21.4-20.7, and quickly establishing a 2-0 advantage. Although Germany’s Anna Janssen and Maximilian Ulbrich managed to level the score at 3-3 and again at 4-4, they never managed to take the lead.

Le and Satpayev responded to the Germans’ challenge with determination, winning the next three rounds to extend their lead to 10-4. Despite a brief tie in the following round, the Kazakh team stayed focused and maintained their momentum, ultimately securing a decisive victory.

For India, it was a heartbreaking day as the Indian teams, Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh, and Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta, finished outside the top four, which was necessary to advance to the medal rounds.

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