In Sydney, it was Zhao Yinghui to carry the hopes of China. In Athens it's Du Li's turn.

Yet they had utterly different fates in their respective Olympic debuts.

Tipped as a title favorite for the women's 10-meter air rifle before the Sydney Games, Zhao failed to make the final under extreme pressure.

Du, who was watching before TV when Zhao competed in Sydney, lived up to her expectations and shot down the first gold at the Athens Olympics on Saturday.

"I did think I had a realistic chance to win before the competition, but this gold is still incredible," said Du.

The 22-year-old outscored a host of elite markswomen, including world number one Lioubov Galkina of Russia, South Korea's world record holder Seo Sun Hwa and world and European champion Katerina Kurkova of the Czech Republic, winning with an Olympic record score of 502.0 points.

Du, competing in her first Olympics, entered the 10-shot final with 398 points on joint second places along with Zhao and Kurkova. She was edged into fifth place after opening the final with a 9.4.

"I was a little bit nervous, so I didn't shoot well," Du said of her first shot in the final.

The Chinese managed to maintain her composure and rejoined the title race with an ensuing 10.6 and 10.8. But she didn't overtake all-time leader Galkina until the last shot, firing a 10.6 against the Russian's 9.7 points.

"My confidence grew as the final went on," said Du. "Luck was finally on my side."

Galkina, who led by a full point into the final with 399 points and 0.4 points before the final round, had to settle for the silver with a total of 501.5 points. Kurkova claimed the bronze medal with 501.1 points.

Despite a near-miss from the top of the medals podium, Galkina paid tributes to her Chinese rival.

"She is really excellent. I'm satisfied with the silver medal," said the 31-year-old.

Du, whose father is a police officer, took up shooting in 1994 when coach Zhang Yumei spotted her talent and persuaded her to train at an amateurish sports school in east China's Shandong province.

Soon after being selected into the national team in February 2002, Du made a splash at the Busan Asian Games in October by winning three gold medals. She then equaled the world record for the qualification round and broke the final world record at a World Cup race in Zagreb in 2003.

Du's rapid progress resulted in her selection for the Athens Olympics. Well aware of a stern test facing her in Athens, Du said she needed to avoid Zhao's mistake in Sydney if she wanted to step in the Hall of Olympic Greats.

"I told myself not to worry about the outcome," Du said. "You can't win the race until you run the first step."

Xu Haifeng, head coach of the Chinese shooting team, said Du had "become a shooter, not just somebody who can shoot."

"She's refined her technique. She's quieted her mind a little bit. She's not worrying about everything she can't control. She's cleaned her thought process and gotten rid of the extraneous stuff: 'Where am I (in the standings)? How am I doing?'" he said.

Du, unlike the intensely serious and introspective Zhao, is very ordinary. Her interests include pop music and photography and she likes nothing other than hanging around with friends and being "a normal kid".

As the star of a sport that receives precious little publicity in China outside the Olympics, Du is set to embrace all the media attention.

"I'm still young. I hope I can keep this form to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing." said Du.

Source: Xinhua