Du Li was the clear favorite to bag the gold this Rio after her gold medal-winning performances in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics.
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Virginia Thrasher of the United States celebrates won the gold medal during the victory ceremony for the Women’s 10m Air Rifle event, at Olympic Shooting Center at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, A. Defending Olympic champion Yi Siling, also of China, took the bronze medal.
Singapore’s Jasmine Ser Xiang Wei did not make it through to the final, qualifying in 25th place out of 51.
An absorbing competition was led briefly by Daria Vdovina, one of the Russian contingent competing in Rio in the shadow of the massive doping scandal that has dogged the Games build-up. The 14-year-old had fired her first gun and felled an animal.
Thrasher had a quick rise to the top.
“It was just a big rush of adrenaline”, Thrasher said of her first hunting trip in an interview with The Washington Post. Yards ahead of her lay a dead whitetail deer. This was Thrasher speaking 5 years ago. “The things she’s achieved just this year, it’s not very often that someone achieves that”.
The 19-year Thrasher became the first freshman to win both individual NCAA rifle titles and helped West Virginia win the team title. Andrea Arsovic of Serbia is ranked No. 1 in the world and failed to advance to the final.
Indian women shooters Apurvi Chandela and Ayonika Paul crashed out of the Rio Olympics 2016 after losing in the quarter-finals in their 10 metre air rifle event here on Saturday.
Apurvi was placed in the 34th position with a combined score of 411.6 while Ayonika was 43rd with 407.0 among 53 shooters at the Olympic Shooting Centre.
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King set the Olympic record in the 100-meter breaststroke and won the Gold medal.
