China's air rifle shooter Yang Qian wins first gold medal of Olympics 2021

China’s 10-meter air rifle shooter Yang Qian won the first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympic Games on Saturday. In a thrilling eight-shooter final, the 21-year-old Chinese shooter edged past Russia’s Anastasiia Galashina by a wafer-thin margin to take home the gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle event.

In the 24 shots final, Yang scored 251.8 points while Anastasiia shot 251.1 points to settle for silver.

Both Yang and Anastasiia were flawless in the final but the gold medal was decided in the 24th shot. Under intense pressure, Anastasiia shot 8.9 in the last shot while Yang scored 9.8 to take home the first gold of Olympics 2021. In the qualification round, Yang was sixth with a score of 628.7 points.

As for Anastasiia, the Russian shooter was lucky to make the cut for the final. With a score of 628.5 points in qualification, she was the last and eighth shooter to enter the medal round. But she held her nerves in the final to battle it out for gold with her Chinese counterpart until the last shot was fired.

Switzerland’s Christen Nina won the bronze medal. The 27-year-old Olympian shot 230.6 points.

Meanwhile Norway's Duestad Jeanette Hegg, who topped the qualification round with a total of 632.9 points, finished fourth in the final. The 22-year-old shooter shot 209.3 points.

The two South Korean shooters, Park Heemoon and Kwon Eunji, were the first to be eliminated in the 8-shooter final. Park was eighth while Kwon finished seventh. In the 24-shot final, the elimination starts after the first 10-shot.

Park, who scored 631.7 points, was second in the qualification round but slipped down in the final.

Tucker Mary Carolynn of the USA was sixth in the final, while 18-year-old French shooter Muller Oceanne finished fifth. Tucker shot 631.4 points in qualification and was third overall.

Indian shooters in Olympics 2021

The two female Indian shooters in the fray, Elavenil Valarivan and Apruvi Chandela, crashed out in the qualification round of the women's 10m air rifle event. Elavenil shot 626.5 in the qualification round to finish 16th while Apurvi scored 621.9 in qualification to finish in 36th spot in the field of 50 shooters. Only the top eight shooters in qualification enter the medal round.

Olympics - Previews - Day 0 - Elavenil Valarivan lost in the women's 10m air rifle event

However, Elavenil Valarivan will have another chance to bag a medal in Tokyo. The World No. 1 will partner Divyansh Singh Panwar at the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event to win a medal for their country in Tokyo.

Apurvi Chandela's Tokyo Olympics dreams are over after her defeat earlier today.