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Pregnant ROK shooter helps muzzle China

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Mother-to-be Gim Yun-mi won the women's 10-meter air pistol on Sunday, helping the Republic of Korea (ROK) sweep all four gold medals at the Aoti Shooting Range after China dominated the first day's action.

Gim Yun-mi of the ROK who won the individual title's gold, poses with her medals on the podium at the end of the women's 10m air pistol final at the Aoti Shooting Range in Guangzhou on Sunday. [Menahem Kahana / AFP]

China cleaned up at the competition by bagging five of the first six gold medals up for grabs - almost double the three shooting golds it reaped in Doha - and threatened to walk away with the competition.

However the ROK, which picked up the remaining title on Saturday, jumped back into the fray on day two by claiming both team titles and the men's 10m air pistol, courtesy of some sharp-shooting by 22-year-old Lee Daem-yung.

"This must be my best performance," said Lee, who has now pocketed three golds in Guangzhou.

"I was only expecting one gold medal, either in the individual or team events(so) I wasn't feeling too much pressure today, because we already bagged our first gold (in the 50m air pistol team event) the day before."

Gim, who is expecting her first child in a month, described being pregnant as a blessing, not a curse. The 28-year-old overcame a two-point deficit in the qualification round to fire 100.3 in the final and beat home favorite Sun Qi to the gold medal by two points.

"I believe my baby gave me all the luck I got in the competition," she said. "I thought I would be at a major disadvantage, both physically and mentally, but I felt even better knowing the baby was there."

Meanwhile, China saw a dip in fortune this year in the 10m air pistol compared to its stellar performance at the previous Asiad. The host picked up three silver medals and one bronze in the discipline in Guangzhou, compared to four gold and one silver in Doha.

It was bad news for 39-year-old veteran Tan Zongliang, who was denied what may well have been his final title in the men's individual event. Tan settled for silver after losing a tight duel with ROK's Lee that saw them tied on 585 points after the qualification round.

"Even at my age, I was a bit nervous in the final," said Tan, who managed to keep bronze medal-winner Kumar Vijay of India at bay despite coming off a two-year layoff from international competition.

"Of course I wanted to win the gold medal, so the final result is a bit of a pity.

On the women's side, China's Sun and Jo Yong-suk from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) ranked second and third thanks to the ROK's rapid rise in the sport.

It was a different picture in the qualifying stages, with Tan and Sun leading their respective points tables before their ROK steady rivals dislodged them.

"The ROK has been performing at quite a high level in the past few years and it's really proving a challenge to China," said Sun, who was making her Asian Games debut.

She said the pressure of the occasion got to her.

"I was feeling pretty stressed out in the final, maybe because I took such a long break before the games," she said.