Chinese shooter Wang Yifu waves a bouquet of flowers at the awarding ceremony for his men's 10m air pistol gold medal in Athens, Greece, Aug.14, 2004. (Xinhua photo)

Chinese shooter Wang Yifu wins the men's 10m air pistol gold medal in Athens, Greece, Aug.14, 2004. (Xinhua photo)

Chinese shooter Wang Yifu shoots at the men's 10m air pistol final in Athens, Greece, Aug.14, 2004. He won the gold medal with a total score of 690. This is the second gold medal for the Chinese Olympic Delegation.  (Xinhua photo)

Chinese shooter Wang Yifu meets the media after winning the men's 10m air pistol gold medal in Athens, Greece, Aug.14, 2004. (Xinhua photo)

    ATHENS, Aug. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- China picked up its second Olympic gold in shooting as Wang Yifu won the men's 10m air pistol event at the Athens Games on Saturday.

    Inspired by compatriot Du Li's triumph in the women's 10m air rifle event, Wang edged out Russian Mikhail Nestruev in a dramaticfinal and finished with a total of 690 points, a new Olympic record.

    Nestruev, the current world number one in the event, took silver with 689.8 points, followed by fellow countryman Vladimir Isakov on 684.3 points.

    Wang, who trailed Nestruev by one point entering the 10-shot final, managed to level the score at 90.1 points before the very last shot. The 44-year-old veteran then scored 9.9 points againsthis Russian rival's 9.7 points, landing the gold medal which has eluded him over the past two Olympics.

    "I'm extremely excited at the victory. It's no easy task," said Wang, who shed tears after receiving the gold medal on the podium.

    Wang, who twice finished second in men's 10 air pistol in Atlanta and Sydney, showed no signs of joy after firing the last shot.

    "I didn't realize my victory until the crowds erupted in loud cheers," he explained.

    Wang, a six-time Olympian and the oldest athlete in the Chinesesports delegation for the Games, first won the men's 10m air pistol in Barcelona Olymics in 1992.

    Tan Zongliang, China's another shooter in this event, and defending champion Franck Dumoulin of France failed to reach the eight-man final. Enditem

Results of men's 10m air pistol finals     

    ATHENS, Aug. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Following are the results of men's 10m air pistol finals at the Athens Olympic Games here on Saturday:

    1. Wang Yifu, China, 690.0 points

    2. Mikhail Nestruev, Russia, 689.8

    3. Vladimir Isakov, Russia, 684.3

    4. Tanyu Kiriakov, Bulgaria, 683.4

    5. Jin Jong Oh, South Korea, 682.9

    6. Kim Hyon Ung, DPR Korea, 682.0

    7. Norayr Bakhtamyan, Armenia, 681.9

    8. Kim Jong Su, DPR Korea, 681.2 Enditem

Factbox: Olympic shooting gold winner Wang Yifu     

    ATHENS, Aug. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese Wang Yifu, air pistol gold medal winner at the Athens Olympic Games

    DOB: December 4, 1960

    Birthplace: Liaoning

    Coach: Deng Weiguang

    Hobby: Chinese chess

    Career:

    2000 - Olympic silver medallist in air pistol, sixth in free pistol

    1996 - Olympic silver medallist in air pistol, sixth in free pistol

    1992 - Olympic gold medallist in air pistol, silver medallist in free pistol

    1988 - Medal-less in the Seoul Olympics

    1984 - Olympic bronze medallist in free pistol

    Honors:

    1999 - Voted the top 50 Chinese athletes since 1949 Enditem