THRASH AND GRAB Favourites #China take a Thrashing as Team #USA win first gold of the #Rio #Olympic Games - TheSun

THE CHINESE favourites took a Thrashing as America won the first gold of the Rio Games in the women’s 10m air rifle.

Virginia Thrasher, 19, claimed the first major medal of her career by defeating Du Li and Yi Siling, the 2004 and 2012 champions.

A horde of Chinese fans and journalists had gathered in the hope of seeing their country take the opening event of the Olympics, just as it had done in London.

And their confidence seemed well placed when Du set a new Olympic record of 420.7 in qualifying.

It was Yi who led early on, but after some poor shots she fell back and Thrasher never looked back after hitting the front for the second time after the 11th of 20 shots in the final.

Du and Yi both had to pull great shots out of the bag just to make it into the final three at the expense of Germany’s Barbara Engleder.

Yi went out after the 18th shot and Du put the pressure on a bit with a near-maximum 10.8.

But Thrasher held her nerve brilliantly to take the gold by a whole point, finishing on 208.0 to Du’s 207.0.

Earlier, Team GB’s Jenny McIntosh had finished a credible 15th out of 57 competitors.