Chinese veteran shooter Wang Yifu shot down the men's 10m air pistol gold medal with a total of 690 points at the 28th Olympic Games on Saturday.

Wang Yifu, at the age of 43, only secured the gold in the final shot, in which he had 9.9 points, beating Mikhail Nestruev of Russia to the second.

Nestruev, world champion in 2002, shot 9.7 points in the final round, losing the title by 0.2 points.

Vladimir Isakov, also from Russia, was third at 684.3 points.?

Wang, who began his career at the age of 16, is the only Chinese athlete who has competed in the Olympic Games since 1984 Los Angels where he finished third in the men's 50m pistol event.

At the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, he took his first gold medal in the 10m air pistol with 684.8 points. In both Atlanta and Sydney Games, he finished second in the shooting.

Results of men's 10m air pistol finals

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

(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2004)