China’s world No 1 Yi Siling won the first gold of the London Olympics in the women’s 10m air rifle competition at London’s Royal Artillery Barracks on Saturday.

In a tense contest watched by International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, Poland’s Sylwia Bogacka took silver after a fierce battle for the top spot while Yu Dan of China clinched bronze. Yi, 23, who won the title at the 2010 world championships in Munich, had a total winning score of 502.9, 0.7 points ahead of Bogacka, on 502.2. Yu finished with 501.5.