Xie had a stable start in the final, ranking third before the elimination stage, where he rose to the top after 10 shots as the two leading Italian shooters both made two sub-10 shots in the fifth series. Holding in hand a 0.4-point advantage before the final shot, he held his nerves to score a 10 while Maldini made only 9.5.

Noting that he lacked experience in international competitions, Xie said "I didn't think too much about winning." "I was giving myself very simple mental cues, 'just knock one out'," he added.

This is the second gold won by China in shooting events and third overall at the Paris Olympics, after Chinese teenage duo Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao won the Games' first gold medal with victory in the 10m air rifle mixed team event on Saturday.