China’s Du Li walked into the final round of the women’s 10m air rifle final event at the National Shooting Range in Rio De Janeiro by creating a qualification Olympic record with a score of 420.7 points but she could not carry her form into the final round as the Chinese failed to get past USA’s Virginia Thrasher in the latter stages of the final round.
USA’s 19-year old Virginia Thrasher finished the event as the gold medallist with a tally of 208.0 points after the 20 final shots in the final round of the 10m air rifle event whereas it was Du Li of China who finished with the silver medal – shooting 207 points in the final round.
China were the biggest victors of the event as they bagged two medals in the form of silver and bronze medals. The bronze medal went to China’s Yi Siling who finished with a tally of 185.4 points after the 18 final shots. The Chinese were up against each other as the final round proceeded to the 18th shot and it was Du Li who came out on top by shooting a staggering 10.8 points, leaving her compatriot with a bronze medal.
Yi Siling had won the gold medal in the event at London but couldn’t defend her medal this time around. However, there were other impressive finishes in the event which the shooting viewers were proud of. The event started with USA’s Sarah Scherer lagging behind with an average performance and she was hence eliminated after 8 rounds with a tally of 78.6 points.
Next in line to follow the American was Croatia’s Snjezana Pejcic who could only manage a paltry 102 points from her 10 rounds of shots.
The event also saw Iran’s Elaheh Ahmadi and Russia’s Daria Vdovina getting eliminated after the 12 and 14 shots respectively. After the 12 shots, Ahmadi could only manage 122.5 points where Yi Siling survived from elimination with 123.3 points.
Thrasher continued to dominate the other remaining shooters but it was Germany’s promising shooter Barbara Engledger who had to leave with a tally of 165.0 points after 16 shots. The German had been in the top three in the initial rounds of the final but could not pull up her socks when it mattered.
In the race to the podium, it was Virginia Thrasher and Du Li who remained while Yi Siling was eliminated after the 18th round of shots. The former two shooters went into the final two shots with only a point difference between them as Thrasher led with 187.4 points.
In an interesting finish, the American held her nerve and kept her concentration to bag her first Olympic gold medal whereas Du Li was left to ponder how she ended up with only a silver medal.
Here is the final result of the women’s 10m air rifle event:
1. Virginia Thrasher – 208.02. Du Li – 207.0 3. Yi Siling – 185.4
