Chinese shooter Lin Haiyan grabbed the gold medal in women's 10-meter air pistol at the Beijing Paralympics on Monday, with a total score of 467.7 points.

This was the first shooting gold for the host country at the Beijing Paralympics.

Lin was followed by Moon Aee-kyung from South Korea with 463.2 points. The bronze was won by Russian shooter Natalia Dalekova with 462.6 points.

Sharing the same leading qualification score of 374 with Moon, Lin started the 10-shot final with a 9.1, 1.1 points lower than Moon's 10.2.

Appearing not so patient, the 43-year-old was the first to open fire in following three shots, while the scores, 9.5, 9.4 and 8.5, further expanded her gap with the South Korean.

The Goddess of Luck smiled at her when it came to the fifth shot. Like always, she led to fire. A decent 9.7.

Moon, however, aimed for quite a while and surprised spectators with a 6.6.

Her rival's lapse seemed to boost Lin's confidence, who later slowed down and collected a 10.2 and a 10.3 to pull away from other finalists.

Before the last shot, the lady on the shooting stand had already boasted an advantage of 3.7 points.

In the breathtaking last shot, the long-haired shooter didn't hesitate for long, before she made an 8.3, nailing down the gold medal.

Ecstatic Chinese spectators, with the Chinese national flag painted on the cheeks and the flags of the Beijing Paralympics in their hands, chanted her name loudly.

The 40-year-old Moon, who might be under great pressure, appeared out of gear again and ended with a 7.5. But her advantage from the third-placer was so great that she still got the silver.

Dalekova, ranked fifth with 366 points in qualification, pulled up her slacks and performed steadily. Although she was still slightly behind after the ninth shot, she held her nerves and made a 9.9 in the end, edging her teammate with a slim difference of 0.1. Her score in the final round, 96.6, was highest among all finalists.

Talking about her not-so-good start in the final, Lin said, "I didn't feel good physically today. I was not myself during the final, even during the sighting time, though I was not nervous at all." The sighting time was a period before real start of the final for competitors to get adapted.

"My performance was far below my normal level," she said.

Moon kept her head drooped after the competition, apparently depressed at the result.

In a contrast, the 24-year-old Russian bronze medalist was happy.

"It's my dream to win a medal at the Paralympics. I think it's the best I've got," said the joyful Dalekova.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2008)