China scoops 3 golds on second day of Rio 2016

The 25-year-old Zhang Mengxue won China's first gold at the Rio Olympics by claiming the women's 10m air pistol title here on Aug 7, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua]

The Chinese team scooped three gold medals on the second day of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after failing to open an account on the first day.

China won its first gold medal at the Rio Summer Olympics on Sunday when Zhang Mengxue was successful in the women's 10m air pistol event.

Zhang, 25, from Jinan, Shandong province, reached the final by finishing in seventh place in qualification.

Her performance helped lift the gloom after Chinese competitors failed to win any gold medals on Saturday, the first full day of competition.

Zhang Mengxue of China poses with her gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics women's 10m air pistol victory ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 7, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Chinese tend to view first-day gold medals as an auspicious sign.

But to the surprise of many in Rio on Saturday, Chinese competitors missed out on all four opportunities to strike gold - the women's 10m air rifle, men's 10m air pistol, women's epee, and most important, the men's 400m freestyle swimming in which national star Sun Yang was defending the title he won at the London Olympics.

China had to settle for two silvers and three bronzes instead. It was the first time since the 2000 Sydney Olympics that the nation had failed to win a gold medal on the first full day of competition.