Olympics: China’s Yuehong wins gold in 25m men’s rapid-fire pistol

By Samuel Akpan in Paris

China’s Li Yuehong, twice a bronze medallist, won gold on Monday in the 25m men’s rapid-fire pistol in the ongoing Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Li finished with 32 out of a possible 40 target hits, seven more than his closest rival and silver medallist, South Korea’s Cho Yeongjae.

Persecondnews reports that another Chinese Wang Xinjie claimed the bronze medal.

The finals began with six competitors and were reduced to four after four rounds, each consisting of firing five shots within 4 seconds.

After another elimination round, two shooters were tied for fourth place: Wang and Germany’s Florian Peter. Wang won a one-round shootoff, 4-2, to secure a medal.

Li, the world-record holder with 39 of 40 hits and the current world No. 2, entered the medal stage, leading Cho by 2 points and Wang by 3.

Thanks to a 4-point effort in Round 7, he pushed his advantage to 3 over Cho entering the final stage, in which he secured that (formerly) elusive gold with a perfect 5-for-5 performance.

Li won bronze in both the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games.