In the afternoon, Chinese Lin Haiyan grabbed the gold medal in women's 10m air pistol with a total score of 467.7 points, earning the host country its first Paralympic shooting gold.

Lin Haiyan grabbed the gold medal in women's 10m air pistol with a total score of 467.7 points, earning the host country its first Paralympic shooting gold on September 8, 2008. [Xinhua]

Runner-up in the event at the Sydney Paralympics, Lin shared the same leading qualification score of 374 with Moon Aee-kyung from South Korea.

When the beaming lady born with infantile paralysis hobbled, rather than moving in a wheelchair, into the final hall, she was greeted with thundering applauses.

In the ten-shot final, Lin didn't start well, collecting just a 9.1, 1.1 points less than Moon's 10.2.

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

But Fortune smiled at her when it came to the fifth round. Like always, she led the firing, and scored a decent 9.7.

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

The arch 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 making an 8.3, nailing down the gold medal in advance.

The ecstatic home crowd, many having the pattern of China's national flag painted on their cheeks and waving the Beijing Paralympics flags, chanted her name loudly.

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

Talking about her not-so-good start in the final, Lin said, "My physical condition was not very good 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 the real start of the final for competitors to get adapted.

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

But coach Wang Lijia was satisfied with Lin's performance.

"She is a bold shooter and did well today," she said.

Lin missed the Athens Paralympics due to poor physical condition at that time.

"In fact, we have met many difficulties during the training," Wang noted. "For the disabled, the process is tough but they need to make unremitting efforts. Luckily she managed to pull through."

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2008)