CRI听力:Zhang Mengxue: biggest bark horse at shooting range in Rio

First-time Olympian Zhang Mengxue secured China's first gold medal of the 2016 Olympics by winning the women's 10-metre air pistol event and extending the country's gold medal streak in the sport.

Zhang established her lead midway through the event and pulled away with a 10.9 perfect shot in the final rounds. Her score is an Olympic record under the new finals format.

When being asked about her best shot, her reply is as cool as her performance during the competition.

"I shot 10.9 before during the daily practice. During the competition, I just concentrated on my actions. So it's not surprise to get it. But I had no time to think about it because I had to pay attention on my next shot."

The name Zhang Mengxue was little known before.

During the final game live broadcasting, commentator said there were several pieces of paper's information about other shooters, but for Zhang Mengxue, just less than one single piece.

Zhang was born in 1991. For some events, the age of 25 is pretty old. But Zhang entered the national team by the end of 2014, this is her first Olympics.

"Since I am a young shooter in the national team, and this is my first Olympics, the original purpose was to train myself. It's my pleasure to enter the finals, I appreciate our team and all coaches very much."

In her fairly short resume, no Olympics, no world championship, and only appeared in 8 international games including Asian Youth Championship.

Now the girl has become the biggest dark horse in China's shooting history.

But the dark horse was calm and even cool during the competition. Ranked fifth in the world, Zhang said she felt her only obligation was to qualify, but she barely made it, coming in seventh out of eight to reach the finals.

"I was pretty calm for the final actually, because the qualification was a bit tough for me. I was nervous during the first several shots, but got better with time. I tried my best, and there were no other thoughts in my mind."

Her cool attracted her huge amount of fans on social media platforms in China and overseas. Talented fans painted many versions of cartoon images with her cool expression during the game. Some netizens said "the stoic appearance of Zhang Mengxue made us feel safer".

There was another detail; she didn't know her gold was the first one for China in this Olympics. But when being told, she was a little surprised and quickly calmed down.

"Really? The first gold… I haven't thought much about it. Anyway, I tried my best and won honor for my country, I am proud."

Zhang kept China in top standing in the event after countrywoman and London 2012 and Beijing 2008 gold medalist Guo Wenjun failed to qualify for the finals, finishing in 30th place.

She showed immense composure during the final round. The event, barring the extraordinary, was out of reach by her final three competitors.

For CRI, I am Chi Huiguang.