Chinese sharpshooter Du Li rallied to pick up gold in the women's 50-meter rifle three positions with 692.7 points at the Good Luck Beijing ISSF World Cup on Thursday.

World record hold, German shooter Sonja Pfeilschifter, nabbed a silver with 690.8 points while the bronze fell into pocket of Russian markswoman Lioubov Galkina who notched up 585.3 points.

Du, the 26-year-old Olympic champion who lost in her main discipline women's 10-meter air rifle on Saturday, was ranked as the second among all eight finalists with 590 points, one point less than Pfeilschifter.

In the first shot of the ten-shot final, she mustered up her strength to achieve a 10.4, surpassing her 37-year-old rival, who collected a 9.1, with a narrow advantage.

The following three shot saw Pfeilschifter regaining her sharpness, and after the fourth shot, Du's only one scored below ten, the Chinese girl was lagged behind.

However, Du managed to hold her nerves and fired a 10.3 point in the fifth shot, one point higher than the German.

She further pulled away in the following shots to expand her advantage, and finally won with a 1.9-point margin.

This is recognized as the best score of Du in this discipline. A gold medalist at the Busan Asian Games in 2002, the shooter later concentrated in 10-meter air rifle and competed less in the three position events.

"I never give up the small-bore rifle event. I've already got a gold medal for the air rifle, so I am more eager for one of the small bore. I want to prove that I can perform excellently in this event as well," smiled the champion, who waved to spectators after the final to show her delight.

Among the two World Cups she participated as three position shooter, she grabbed a bronze in the South Korea stop 2005 and failed to edge into the final in the other.

"I am a little weak in this event," she admitted. "So I am not confident enough in this event as in the former one (10-meter air rifle)."

In the previous event, Du, who held the world record, took off her earplugs to "get adapted to the surroundings", but this time, she competed with her earplugs.

"This is a breakthrough for me...I was so lucky," she said. Her major rivals, Pfeilschifter and Galkina lapsed in the final round and qualification respectively.

Du's outstanding performance gained approval from Wang Yifu, head coach of the Chinese national shooting squad.

"She shot her best level and it exceeded our expectation," said he happily. "She performed a world-class shot."

Though missing the gold, German shooter Pfeilschifter, whose record was 698.0 points, said she was "satisfied with the result", especially in the "former five shots," she said.

"The qualification score is my normal level," added the runner-up, "and I believe I can do better in the Olympics."

Galkina also showed her capacity to chalk in a second highest final round score of 102.3 points, which raised her from the eighth place to the third.

"I was calm during the final round. Until the last shot I was still trying my best," said the 35-year-old famous athlete.

"Another World Cup is approaching in Germany in May. So before the Olympic Games I still have chance to warm up," she said.

Another Chinese shooter, 26-year-old Yin Wen, who entered the final as the fourth started with a startling 7.2 point and eventually plunged to the last.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2008)