Atlanta briefly : Pistol star falls to earth

Shooting

A Chinese marksman who threw away a certain gold medal with his final shot was so shocked and grief-stricken that he had to be taken from the arena on a stretcher with an oxygen mask clamped to his face. Wang Yifu collapsed near the range after scoring the lowest shot of the day while well ahead in the men's 10-metre air pistol competition and poised for victory and a new Olympic record. Wang needed to score just 6.7 out of 11 with his last attempt, but after pausing to steady his nerves he scored a mere 6.5. His previous lowest shot had scored 9.6. The Italian Roberto Di Donna finished with a 10.4 shot, and as the winner was being mobbed, Wang slumped to the ground and began to weep. He then fainted and had to be revived before medical staff took him away for treatment. There was no immediate word on his condition but he was unable to collect his medal, which was accepted by a team-mate.