Paris: China claimed the first gold medal of the Paris Olympics on Saturday, with the mixed-team 10-metre air rifle event. Teenagers Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting triumphed over South Korea’s Keum Ji-hyeon and Park Ha-jun with a score of 16-12, while Kazakhstan secured the bronze.
The day’s sporting events were significantly impacted by the rain that had affected Friday’s opening ceremony, which featured a spectacular, albeit damp, display on the River Seine. The men’s street skateboarding competition, scheduled for the Place de la Concorde, was postponed to Monday due to the continued wet weather. Additionally, the opening rounds of tennis at Roland Garros faced delays, with play on the 10 uncovered outside courts starting only at 13:30 local time (11:30 GMT).
Friday night’s opening ceremony, which showcased a parade of around 7,000 athletes along the Seine, concluded with a grand light show at the Eiffel Tower and a performance by Celine Dion. Despite the rain, the ceremony was well-received, though France’s Le Figaro described it as “full of surprises but often disjointed.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) apologized for a significant error during the ceremony, where South Korean athletes were mistakenly introduced as North Korean. “We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony,” the IOC stated on its official Korean-language X account.
