VINH'S Winning Feeling

For the veteran shooter from Vietnam, it was the REALISATION OF A DREAM after narrowly missing a podium finish four years ago.

- P.K.Ajith Kumar

China on top, followed by the United States and Vietnam— that’s how the medals table read for a while. You could not have missed the irony. Vietnam is no match to those big sporting and economic powerhouses, but the small Southeast Asian country had fought wars with them.

At Rio 2016, Vietnam rubbed shoulders with those giants, who had finished as the top two nations in the last three Games, thanks to a 42-year-old man. Hoang Xuan Vinh won the gold in the men’s 10m air pistol. It was a historic moment for Vietnam; it was the nation’s first gold medal since its Olympic debut in 1952.

For the veteran shooter, it was the realisation of a dream after narrowly missing a podium finish four years ago. He had finished fourth in the 50m pistol final, missing the bronze medal by 0.1 point in London 2012.

“Winning this medal will be a life-long memory,” he said. “This is after all the first gold for Vietnam.”

Thrasher thrashes the field

Like Hoang, Virginia Thrasher became one of the first stars in Rio. But she is a lot younger. The American shooter is only 19. She claimed the gold in the women’s 10m air rifle, becoming the first gold medal winner at the Games. It was also gold No. 977 for the United States in Olympic history.

It was a most unexpected gold too, as Thrasher was not exactly favoured to thrash the competition, for she is ranked only No. 23 in the world.