China win first gold medal of Paris Olympics 2024 in mixed team air rifle shooting

The dynamic duo of Yuting Huang and Lihao Sheng from China secured the first gold medal of the Paris Olympics, establishing China as the inaugural nation to claim victory at the prestigious event.

Their impressive performance at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre on Saturday saw them triumph over the Republic of Korea’s Keum Jih-yeon and Park Ha-jun with a score of 16-12 in the gold-medal match. Earlier in the day, both China and Korea had dominated the qualification round, securing the top two spots.

In a historic moment for Kazakhstan, Alexandre Le and Islam Satpayev clinched the first medal of Paris 2024, marking Kazakhstan's first Olympic shooting medal since 1996. The mixed 10m rifle pair made their mark as the first medalists of the event.

Unfortunately, India's 10m air rifle mixed team duos, Ramita Jindal-Arjun Babuta and Sandeep Singh-Elavenil Valarivan, fell short of reaching the medal rounds at the Chateauroux shooting range on Saturday.

During the 10m air rifle mixed team qualification final, the People’s Republic of China team 1, consisting of Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao, showcased their prowess as reigning world champions in the event. With a top score of 632.2, the Chinese pair advanced to the gold medal match, where they faced off against the South Korean pair of Keum Jihyeon and Park Jahun, who secured the second spot in qualifying with a score of 631.4.

Also read| Paris Olympics 2024: Indian 10m mixed air rifle teams crash out in qualification round