People celebrate Yang Qian's victory in the women's 10m air rifle competition at the cultural auditorium of Yangjianong village, Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, on July 24, 2021. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese shooter Yang Qian won the first gold medal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the women's 10m air rifle on Saturday, and Yangjianong, a small village in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, instantly became astir, with fellow villagers clapping and cheering at the news.

Yang was born in 2000 in Yangjianong village, Yinzhou district of Ningbo. She was selected among the shooting team of Ningbo Sports School in 2011, where she started her shooting career. In 2019, Yang became a member of the national shooting team.

Yu Lihua, Yang's first shooting coach at Ningbo Sports School, who was from Suichang county in Zhejiang's Lishui city, has been teaching shooting for more than 30 years, and Yu's students have won over 120 championships in various national-level competitions. Yu watched the live broadcast of the competition with Yang's parents and villagers in the village's cultural auditorium village on Saturday.

Yang Qian celebrates after winning the first gold medal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the women's 10m air rifle competition, on July 24, 2021. [Photo/IC]

"It is the first time that my student won a gold medal in the Olympic Games, especially as it is the first gold medal that the Chinese team has won at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. I'm so proud of Yang Qian." Yu said.

"She deserved it," said Yu excitedly. "Athletes in the Olympic Games should not only have great skills but also adjust their own mood and mentality to cope with anxieties. Yang Qian has such good sportsmanship to control herself well under pressure."

Shi Anfang, Yang's mother, smiled through tears as her daughter won the competition. "She has achieved her dream. I have always been proud of my daughter. She is the pride of our family. Now she is the pride of the nation."

Talking about the expectations for her daughter, Shi said Yang should keep working hard as there is still a long way to go.

Yang study at Maoshan Primary School, a school in Jiangshan town, Yinzhou district. Zhu Xiaomei, her instructor back then, said Yang's victory would encourage both teachers and students greatly.

"As long as they work hard, they will be the top talents in their own field, like what Yang has achieved," Zhu said.