Victorious Pang restores China pride

China's Pang Wei won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol yesterday, restoring the host nation's pride hours after compatriot Du Li wilted under the enormous pressure of home crowd expectations in her event.

Pang, the 2006 world champion and the pre-Olympics favourite, won with a score of 688.2. He built a comfortable lead in the qualification round and was never threatened. He turned and bowed to the big crowd of more than 2,000 that loudly cheered his victory.

Jin Jong-oh of South Korea won the silver medal with a score of 684.5 and Kim Jong Su of North Korea got bronze with 683.0.

"I had no idea about the result from this morning," Pang said, referring to Du's stunning meltdown that led to a tear-filled exit past reporters at the Beijing shooting range hall.

"We have 'information control measures' to avoid pressure on athletes and on shooters," the 22-year-old added. "I do hope my winning the gold medal can bring luck to the Chinese team. I do hope that our Chinese shooting team can win more medals.

Earlier, Katerina Emmons of the Czech Republic opened the Olympics with a gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle, upsetting defending Olympic champion Du who finished fifth.

In Athens in 2004, China took top honours in the shooting competition with four gold medals and nine medals in total. The host country was hoping to do at least as well in 2008, even though the number of events has been reduced from 17 to 15.

"The Olympics are the highest level of competition and with all the years of preparation you certainly feel excited," Pang said when asked about missing the bullseye on his final shot with a subpar 9.3 after getting 10s in eight straight shots before that.

"I failed to effectively control my emotions," added Pang, who kept his left hand tucked coolly in the pocket of his trousers while shooting. "I can get more than 10 points in all rounds but in the finals it's hard to control your emotions."

He said he thrived on the hopes of 1.3 billion Chinese eager for medals and did not feel negative pressure.

"It's a kind of festival," he said. "We shouldn't be drawn off course by all the pressure. We're here to show our best. I don't feel nervous, but did feel some pressure to perform my best after so many years of training. This final sharpened my skills."