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Preview: No easy way for China to defend first gold

Xinhua, August 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

China has two of the best female rifle shooters in the world, and both of them will appear in the competition for the first gold to be produced in 2016 Rio Olympics.

As the defending champion, 27-year-old Yi Siling said she was less nervous than four years ago.

"There is some injury, but it won't affect the Games," said Yi.

"Pressure is always there, every competition, so the only thing you can do is to know how to deal with the pressure. "

Yi has been doing well in the last four years, getting at least one World Cup gold for each year, but in 2016 Olympic Trials, she ended up without any medal.

"There were some athletes not feeling good during the Trials," said Chinese shooting team official Xiao Haopeng.

"That fact caught our attention and we are working to solve the problem."

Du Li, winner of the same event on 2004 Games, was another contender for the title. She competed the 2012 Games without getting into the final, and she hopes she will be luckier this time.

"More than a decade has passed since my 2004 title," said Du. "I won't push myself as hard as when I was young, and I just want to enjoy the Games."

The Chinese duo is the top favorite of the first gold, but there is no easy way to achieve that.

According to Xiao's estimation, shooters will need 417 points to get into the final, and more than a dozen participants have the ability to do that.

World No. 1 Andrea Arsovic did a great job in many ISSF World Cup stages, including a gold in Munich, 2016. The 29-year-old markswoman is fighting for her first Olympic medal. Along with compatriot Ivana Andusic Maksimovic, the Serbian team will become one of the major threats to Team China.

The Iranian team is also strong enough for the highest step on the podium. Najmeh Khedmati, 20-year-old rising star, got the champion of the 2014 Asian Games after the world-class competition, in which Yi only finished with the fifth place.

Under the new rules of ISSF, the results of any shooting event are more unpredictable.

Anything can happen, and no one will have an easy victory. Endit