China's Yi Siling won the first gold medal of the 2012 London Olympic Games on Saturday morning, besting Poland's Sylwia Bogacka in the 10-meter women's air rifle shooting contest.
Yi, 23, said she was very happy about the win and wanted to thank her mother and father for their support during training.
"I've been up since 5:00 a.m. this morning. There was a lot of pressure on me," she added, after receiving her gold medal from International Olympic Committee (IOC) Chairman Jacques Rogge.
The 10-meter air rifle contest involves athletes shooting from a stationary position at fixed targets 10 meters (32.8 feet) away. At the Olympic games, shooters will also compete in pistol and shotgun shooting contests.
China has a long history with winning in the shooting category. At the 1992 games in Barcelona, China's Zhang Shan became the first woman to win gold in a mixed-gender shooting event.
It was after these games that the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) stopped men and women competing against each other. At the 2012 games, 400 shooters will compete across 15 gendered events.
Yi's gold brings China's total medal count to two on the first day of the games (China's Dan Yu won the bronze in the 10-meter contest). Poland has one medal (Bogacka's silver).
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