CHATEAUROUX, France, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's veteran shooter Li Yuehong won his maiden gold at his thrid Olympics after victory in men's 25m rapid fire pistol here on Monday.

The 34-year-old made 32 hits in the final to secure the fifth shooting gold for China, the best record for the powerhouse in an oversea Olympics. Cho Yeong-jae of South Korea took the silver medal with 25 hits and Li's compatriot Wang Xinjie came in third.

Taking a three-hit lead before the last series, Li, shooting first, needed only three hits to win but made a perfect five to enjoy his moment of celebration, pumping his fist in the air before bursting into tears when hugging his coach.

Bronze medalist at both Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympics, Li took an early lead in the final but saw his position overtaken by Cho when he only made two hits in the fourth series. He came back on top two series later and remained stable afterwards to change the color of his medal to gold.

Wang, despite a perfect five in the opening series, was on the verge of elimination after three shaky ones, but managed to edge Florian Peter of Germany to make the top three through shoot-off and finished third one hit short.