China's Huang and Sheng win first gold of Paris Games

IMAGE: China’s Yuting Huang, left, and Lihao Sheng on the podium. Photograph: ISSF/X

China's Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao won the first gold medal of the Paris Games on Saturday in the 10 metres air rifle mixed team event.

IMAGE: China’s Yuting Huang, left, and Lihao Sheng after winning. Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters

Keum Ji-hyeon and Park Ha-jun of South Korea claimed silver and Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev of Kazakhstan were awarded bronze.

IMAGE: China’s Yuting Huang, left, and Lihao Sheng of China in action. Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters

Three years after Yang Qian and Yang Haoran won the gold in Tokyo, compatriots Huang and Sheng made sure China retained it.

The reigning world champions topped the qualifying round ahead of their Korean rivals at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

The gold medal round was not really a cakewalk though despite them racing to a 14-8 lead after the first 11 shots.

IMAGE: From left, Silver medallists Jihyeon Keum of South Korea and Hajun Park of South Korea , gold medallists Yuting Huang of China and Lihao Sheng of China and bronze medallists Alexandra Le of Kazakhstan and Islam Satpayev of Kazakhstan pose after the gold medal competition. Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters

Keum and Park staged a late comeback to reduce the gap at 14-12 but the Chinese pair prevailed 16-12 in the end.

Le and Satpayev gave Kazakhstan their first medal of the Paris Games with a 17-5 romp against the German pair of Anna Janssen and Maximilian Ulbrich.

THE OLYMPICS, 2024

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